Isaiah 49:21

49:21 Then you will think to yourself, ¹ 

‘Who bore these children for me?

I was bereaved and barren,

dismissed and divorced. ² 

Who raised these children?

Look, I was left all alone;

where did these children come from?’”

Isaiah 66:2

66:2 My hand made them; ³ 

that is how they came to be,” ⁴  says the Lord.

I show special favor ⁵  to the humble and contrite,

who respect what I have to say. ⁶ 

[49:21]  ¹ tn Heb “and you will say in your heart.”

[49:21]  ² tn Or “exiled and thrust away”; NIV “exiled and rejected.”

[66:2]  ³ tn Heb “all these.” The phrase refers to the heavens and earth, mentioned in the previous verse.

[66:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all these were.” Some prefer to emend וַיִּהְיוּ (vayyihyu, “and they were”) to וְלִי הָיוּ (vÿli hayu, “and to me they were”), i.e., “and they belong to me.”

[66:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and to this one I look” (KJV and NASB both similar).

[66:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the humble and the lowly in spirit and the one who trembles at my words.”