And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Parallel translations
- WEB It will happen that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
- BSB Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- NKJV “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- NASB It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will listen.
- NLT I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!
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 will answer his people even before they finish calling on him. It matters because it promises intimate, immediate fellowship and the assurance that God hears.
Overview
In the renewed relationship, the distance and delay caused by sin are gone, and God responds with eager nearness. This fulfills the longing for unhindered communion with God expressed throughout Scripture. Through Christ, believers now have confident access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18), a foretaste of this perfect intimacy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Dan 10:12Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
- 1 Jn 5:14–15And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
- Mark 11:24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
- Isa 58:9Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
- Ps 91:15He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
- Ps 50:15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
- Isa 55:6Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
- Acts 4:31And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
- Acts 10:30–32And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
- Dan 9:20–23And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
- Ps 32:5I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
- Luke 15:18–20I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
- Acts 12:5–16Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 65:24 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.