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.
Parallel translations
- WEB The children of your bereavement will say in your ears, ‘This place is too small for me. Give me a place to live in.’
- BSB Yet the children of your bereavement will say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; make room for us to live here.’
- NKJV 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.’
- NASB “The children you lost will yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.’
- NLT The generations born in exile will return and say, ‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’
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
The children born in Zion's bereavement will say the place is too cramped, asking for more room to dwell.
Overview
Continuing the theme of v.19, the new generation finds Zion overflowing and pleads for more space. Children born in exile and loss now crowd the restored city, a sign of God's reversal of barrenness. This pictures the surprising, abundant fruitfulness God grants His people, fulfilled in the worldwide growth of the church.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Josh 17:14–16And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto?
- 2 Kgs 6:1And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
- Isa 51:3For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
- Isa 60:4Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
- Isa 54:1–3Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
- Hos 1:10Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
- Gal 4:26–28But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
- Matt 3:9And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 49:20 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.