“Before the birth pains even begin, Jerusalem gives birth to a son.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Before she travailed, she gave birth. Before her pain came, she delivered a son.
- KJV Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.
- BSB “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.
- NKJV “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child.
- NASB ¶“Before she was in labor, she delivered; Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.
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
Zion gives birth before her labor pains come, picturing a sudden, God-given new community. It matters because it shows that God's restoration of his people is his own miraculous work.
Overview
Using the image of an effortless, swift delivery, the verse depicts the unexpected and rapid emergence of God's renewed people. What no human effort could accomplish, God brings about by his power. The sudden birth of a people anticipates the rapid growth of the church after Christ's resurrection, a nation born by the Spirit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Rev 12:1–5A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
- Gal 4:26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
- Isa 54:1“Sing, barren, you who didn’t give birth; break out into singing, and cry aloud, you who did not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,” says Yahweh.
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 66:7 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.