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Isaiah 49:20

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Isaiah 49:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “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.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

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.
Isaiah 49:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Isaiah 49

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
17Thy children make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from thee.
18Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, like a bride.
19For, as for thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy land that hath been destroyed, surely now shalt thou be too strait for the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
20The 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.
21Then 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?
22Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
23And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah; and they that wait for me shall not be put to shame.
← Isaiah 49:19Isaiah 49:21 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, &c.] Which “other lost” are not the Jews, the broken branches, rejected and cut off for unbelief; and the “children after” them not the Gentiles converted, which took their place; but “the other” are such who have been destroyed by the Heathen persecutions, and especially by the antichristian cruelties; and the “children after”, the great numbers of converts upon the fall of antichrist. The words may be rendered, “the children of thine orbity”f984, or “childless state”; such as were born unto her in an uncommon, extraordinary, and unexpected way, when the church seemed to be in a widowhood estate, or like a woman that is…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“children . . . after . . . other--rather, "the children of thy widowhood," that is, the children of whom thou hast been bereft during their dispersion in other lands (see on Isa 47:8) [MAURER]. again--rather, "yet." give place--rather, "stand close to me," namely, in order that we may be the more able to dwell in in the narrow place [HORSLEY]. Compare as to Israel's spiritual children, and the extension of the gospel sphere, Rom 15:19, Rom 15:24; Co2 10:14-16. But Isa 49:22 (compare Isa 66:20) shows that her literal children are primarily meant. GESENIUS translates, "Make room."”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The children which thou shalt have - The increase of the population shall be so great. After thou hast lost the other - Hebrew, ‘The sons of thy widowhood.’ That is, after thou hast lost those that have been killed in the wars, and those that have died in captivity in a distant land, there shall be again a great increase as if they were given to a widowed mother. And perhaps the general truth is taught here, that the persecution of the people of God will be attended ultimately with a vast increase; and that all the attempts to obliterate the church will only tend finally to enlarge and strengthen it. Shall say again in thy ears - Or, shall say to thee. The place is too strait for me - There…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“The children - Those Gentiles which shall be begotten by thee, when thou shalt be deprived of thine own natural children, when the generality of the Jews cut themselves off from God. Isaiah 49:21”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“children: Isa 60:4; Hos 1:10; Mat 3:9; Gal 4:26-28 The place: Isa 51:3, Isa 54:1, Isa 54:2; Jos 17:14-16; Kg2 6:1 Isaiah 49:21”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification