Bible Strands
Isaiah 43:5
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — YHWH speaks directly to Israel in exile, immediately after declaring them precious and loved (v. 4) and immediately before specifying the directions of gathering (v. 6).
The words — 'al- (אַל־) is the Hebrew prohibitive, a jussive negation that commands rather than merely advises. zar.'E./kha (זַרְעֶ֔/ךָ), "your offspring," is the concrete object of the promise—descendants, seed, the next generation being retrieved.
The thread — The gathering-from-all-directions motif runs through Deuteronomy 30:3 (restoration from all nations), Isaiah 49:12 (coming from north and west), and Luke 13:29 (east, west, north, south at the table in the kingdom).
Why it lands — It is a command, not a suggestion: the reader is told to stop fearing and to trust a stated intention. The burden of proof is placed on the speaker, not the hearer.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 30:3 then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you.
- Luke 13:29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.
- Isaiah 49:12 Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.”
- Ezekiel 39:25 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Now I will restore Jacob from captivity and will have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name.
- Isaiah 44:2 This is the word of the LORD, your Maker, who formed you from the womb and who will help you: “Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
- Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
- Ezekiel 36:24 For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land.
- Acts 18:9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.
- Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.
- Jeremiah 30:10 As for you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return to quiet and ease, with no one to make him afraid.