Bible Strands
Isaiah 66:9
Shall I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?” says the LORD. “Or will I who deliver close the womb?” says your God.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Israel in the final chapter of Isaiah, responding to the sudden, miraculous birth of Zion’s children described in the preceding verse. He poses a rhetorical question about His commitment to a nation in labor.
The words — The supplied lexicon defines אַשְׁבִּ֛יר ('ashbir) as "do I bring to the birth" and אוֹלִ֖יד ('olid) as "I cause to bring forth." Yahweh uses these verbs to frame a rhetorical challenge regarding His refusal to abort or close the womb after initiating delivery.
The thread — The labor motif appears in Isaiah 37:3, where Hezekiah describes children come to birth but lacking the strength to deliver them. Genesis 18:14 reinforces the theme by asking whether anything is too difficult for the LORD to accomplish at His appointed time.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine initiation of deliverance is never abandoned mid-process. It requires the reader to trust that God’s commitment to birth and restoration remains absolute regardless of apparent delay or distress.
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
Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 37:3 to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.
- Genesis 18:14 Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”