Isaiah 51:18

18 Among all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children she reared there was none to take her by the hand.

Isaiah 51:18 in Other Translations

18 There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.

18 There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne; there is none to take her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up.

18 Not one of your children is left alive to take your hand and guide you.

18 And nobody to help you home, no one among your friends or children to take you by the hand and put you in bed.

18 There is no one to guide her among all the children she has raised; there is no one to take hold of her hand among all the offspring she has brought up.

Isaiah 51:18 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 51:18

There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath
brought forth
Still alluding to drunken persons staggering in the streets, that can scarcely stand on their feet, and do not know their way, and yet have none to hold them up and guide them, not even of their friends and relations: neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that
she hath brought up;
to hold her up from falling, of which there is danger by reeling to and fro, through the intoxicating liquor; and this, either for want of sons, these being dead, or through want of filial affection in them. This was true of Jerusalem, literally understood, at the time of her last destruction by the Romans, when she had no king, priest, nor prophet, to counsel and direct, defend and protect her; and will be the case of the church of God at the slaying of the witnesses, when their own friends will be shy of them, and refuse or neglect to do any kind offices, or show any respect unto them, signified by not suffering their dead bodies to be put into graves, ( Revelation 11:9 ) .

Isaiah 51:18 In-Context

16 I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand— I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’ ”

17 Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORDthe cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger.

18 Among all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children she reared there was none to take her by the hand.

19 These double calamities have come upon you— who can comfort you?— ruin and destruction, famine and sword— who can console you?

20 Your children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the LORD, with the rebuke of your God.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 88:18
• 2. S Job 31:18; S Isaiah 49:21
• 3. S Isaiah 41:13