Isaiah 49:22

This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Lord Yahweh addresses exiled Zion immediately after her rhetorical question about the impossible origin of her returned children. He responds to her lament with a declaration of divine intervention among the surrounding peoples.

The words — הִנֵּה (hi.Neh) literally means “here!” or “behold,” marking an imminent divine act, while אֶשּׂא ('e.Sa) translates to “I will lift up,” describing God’s deliberate mobilization of power.

The thread — The gathering of nations to Zion recurs in Psalms 86:9, where all peoples bow before the Lord, and Isaiah 14:2, which states the nations will escort Israel home. Luke 13:29 applies the same gathering motif to the future kingdom table.

Why it lands — The text states that God will actively use foreign nations to restore Israel, overriding human calculation. It requires the reader to abandon questioning and accept the declared mechanism of restoration.

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

Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

Cross-references

Psalms 86:9 All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
Isaiah 14:2 The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.
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.
Psalms 22:27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
Psalms 67:4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples justly and lead the nations of the earth. Selah
Psalms 72:8 May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
Psalms 72:17 May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.
Isaiah 2:2 In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
Isaiah 11:10 On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.
Isaiah 42:1 “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.