He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,” And, “This is the resting place,” but they would not listen.
Parallel translations
- WEB to whom he said, “This is the resting place. Give rest to weary”; and “This is the refreshing”; yet they would not hear.
- KJV To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
- BSB to whom He has said: “This is the place of rest, let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.” But they would not listen.
- NKJV To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear.
- NLT God has told his people, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.” But they would not listen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God had offered them true rest and refreshing, but they refused to listen.
Overview
The Lord recalls that He invited His weary people into rest, yet they would not hear. Their rejection of His gracious offer left them under judgment instead of repose. This anticipates Christ's invitation, 'Come to me, all who labor, and I will give you rest,' the true rest these refused.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 11:28–29“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Isa 30:15For thus said the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, “You will be saved in returning and rest. Your strength will be in quietness and in confidence.” You refused,
- Jer 6:16Yahweh says, “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, ‘Where is the good way?’ and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
- Heb 12:25See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven,
- Jer 44:16“As for the word that you have spoken to us in Yahweh’s name, we will not listen to you.
- Zech 7:14“but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
- Isa 11:10It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious.
- Ps 81:11–13But my people didn’t listen to my voice. Israel desired none of me.
- 2 Chr 14:11Asa cried to Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, Yahweh our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. Yahweh, you are our God. Don’t let man prevail against you.”
- Zech 7:11But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
- 2 Chr 16:8–9Weren’t the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge army, with chariots and horsemen exceeding many? Yet, because you relied on Yahweh, he delivered them into your hand.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 28:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.