20 The children born during your bereavement

will yet say in your hearing,

‘This place is too small for us;

give us more space to live in.’

21 Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who bore me these?

I was bereaved and barren;

I was exiled and rejected.

Who brought these up?

I was left all alone,

but these—where have they come from?’ ”

20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears,

The place is too strait for me:

Give place to me that I may dwell.

21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these,

Seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate,

A captive, and removing to and fro?

And who hath brought up these?

Behold, I was left alone;

These, where had they been?

20 The generations born in exile will return and say,

‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’

21 Then you will think to yourself,

‘Who has given me all these descendants?

For most of my children were killed,

and the rest were carried away into exile.

I was left here all alone.

Where did all these people come from?

Who bore these children?

Who raised them for me?’ ”

20 The children you will have,

After you have lost the others,

Will say again in your ears,

‘The place is too small for me;

Give me a place where I may dwell.’

21 Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who has begotten these for me,

Since I have lost my children and am desolate,

A captive, and wandering to and fro?

And who has brought these up?

There I was, left alone;

But these, where were they?’ ”

20 Children were born to you while you were sad,

but they will say to you,

‘This place is too small for us.

Give us a bigger place to live.’

21 Then you will say to yourself,

‘Who gave me all these children?

I was sad and lonely,

defeated and separated from my people.

So who reared these children?

I was left all alone.

Where did all these children come from?’ ”

20 The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell. 21 Then shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?

20 The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too narrow for me: make room for me, that I may dwell. 21 And thou shalt say in thy heart, Who hath borne me these, seeing I had lost my children and was desolate, an exile, and driven about? and who hath brought up these? behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?

20 The children taken from you will say to you, 

“This place is too crowded for me. 

Make room for me to live here.” 

21 Then you will ask yourself, 

“Who has fathered these ⸤children⸥ for me? 

I was childless and unable to have children. 

I was exiled and rejected. 

Who raised these ⸤children for me⸥? 

I was left alone. 

Where have they come from?” 

20 Yet as you listen, the children

that you have been deprived of will say,

‘This place is too small for me;

make room for me so that I may settle.’

21 Then you will say within yourself,

‘Who fathered these for me?

I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,

exiled and wandering—

but who brought them up?

See, I was left by myself—

but these, where did they come from?’ ”

20 The children born in the time of your bereavement

will yet say in your hearing:

“The place is too crowded for me;

make room for me to settle.”

21 Then you will say in your heart,

“Who has borne me these?

I was bereaved and barren,

exiled and put away—

so who has reared these?

I was left all alone—

where then have these come from?”

20 Yet the children born when you were bereaved will say in your hearing,

“The place is too cramped for me;

make room for me so that I can dwell.”

21 Then you will say in your heart,

“Who has borne me these?”

And, “I was bereaved and barren,

exiled and thrust away;

so who raised these?

Look at me! I was left alone;

where have these come from?”

20 The children who were born during your time of sorrow

will speak to you. They will say,

‘This city is too small for us.

Give us more space to live in.’

21 Then you will say to yourself,

‘Whose children are these?

I lost my children.

And I couldn’t have any more.

My children were taken far away from me.

And no one wanted them.

Who brought these children up?

I was left all alone.

So where have these children come from?’ ”

20 “The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,

‘The place is too cramped for me;

Make room for me that I may live here.’

21 “Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who has begotten these for me,

Since I have been bereaved of my children

And am barren, an exile and a wanderer?

And who has reared these?

Behold, I was left alone;

From where did these come?’ ”