The Meaning of Isaiah 49:18 Explained

Isaiah 49:18

KJV: Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.

YLT: Lift up round about thine eyes and see, All of them have been gathered, They have come to thee. I live, an affirmation of Jehovah! Surely all of them as an ornament thou puttest on, And thou bindest them on like a bride.

Darby: Lift up thine eyes round about and behold: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt indeed clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and bind them on as a bride doth.

ASV: Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, like a bride.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Lift up  thine eyes  round about,  and behold:  all these gather themselves together,  [and] come  to thee. [As] I live,  saith  the LORD,  thou shalt surely clothe  thee with them all, as with an ornament,  and bind  them [on thee], as a bride  [doeth]. 

What does Isaiah 49:18 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Zion was to look around her. Her builder-sons would gather around her. They would be to her as jewels are to a bride, her prized glory and adornment. The Lord swore on His life that this would be so. Only a relatively few Israelites responded to Cyrus" edict and returned to rebuild Jerusalem. The majority decided to stay in Babylon. Thus this prediction must be looking into the future.

Context Summary

Isaiah 49:14-26 - The Lord Cannot Forget His Own
These assurances were given to the chosen race on the eve of their return from Babylon. They were timid and reluctant to quit the familiar scenes of their captivity; they dreaded the dangers and privations of their way home, and questioned whether the great empire of their captors would ever let them go or allow their city to rise from its ruins. Therefore the Lord's voice takes on a tone of unusual persuasiveness. Let us ponder His assurances of compassion and comfort, Isaiah 49:13; Isaiah 49:15-16.
He will lead us with a shepherd's care, Isaiah 49:10. He will make obstacles subserve His purpose, Isaiah 49:11. His love is more than motherhood, Isaiah 49:15. He treasures the remembrance of His own, Isaiah 49:16. Zion thinks herself cast away as a derelict, Isaiah 49:14, but such is not the case. Even her broken walls are ever before God, with a view to their rebuilding, Isaiah 49:19, etc. God's love is stronger than our strongest enemies, Isaiah 49:25, etc. Let us hide in it, standing above the fears that compose the cloudland of our soul, in the upper peaks of a strong faith. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 49

1  Christ being sent to the Jews, complains of them
5  He is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises
13  God's love is perpetual to his church
18  The ample restoration of the church
24  The powerful deliverance out of captivity

What do the individual words in Isaiah 49:18 mean?

Lift up look around your eyes and see all these gather together [and] come to you [As] live I says Yahweh surely with them all as an ornament You shall clothe yourselves and bind them [on you] as a bride [does]
שְׂאִֽי־ סָבִ֤יב עֵינַ֙יִךְ֙ וּרְאִ֔י כֻּלָּ֖ם נִקְבְּצ֣וּ בָֽאוּ־ לָ֑ךְ חַי־ אָ֣נִי נְאֻם־ יְהוָ֗ה כִּ֤י כֻלָּם֙ כָּעֲדִ֣י תִלְבָּ֔שִׁי וּֽתְקַשְּׁרִ֖ים כַּכַּלָּֽה

שְׂאִֽי־  Lift  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
סָבִ֤יב  look  around 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מוּסָב 
Sense: places round about, circuit, round about adv.
עֵינַ֙יִךְ֙  your  eyes 
Parse: Noun, cdc, second person feminine singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
וּרְאִ֔י  and  see 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
כֻּלָּ֖ם  all  these 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
נִקְבְּצ֣וּ  gather  together 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: קָבַץ  
Sense: to gather, assemble.
בָֽאוּ־  [and]  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
לָ֑ךְ  to  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person feminine singular
חַי־  [As]  live 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָ֗ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
כִּ֤י  surely 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
כֻלָּם֙  with  them  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
כָּעֲדִ֣י  as  an  ornament 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲדִי  
Sense: ornaments.
תִלְבָּ֔שִׁי  You  shall  clothe  yourselves 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person feminine singular
Root: לָבַשׁ  
Sense: to dress, wear, clothe, put on clothing, be clothed.
וּֽתְקַשְּׁרִ֖ים  and  bind  them  [on  you] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive imperfect, second person feminine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: קָשַׁר  
Sense: to bind, tie, bind together, league together, conspire.
כַּכַּלָּֽה  as  a  bride  [does] 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: כַּלָּה  
Sense: bride, daughter-in-law.