Isaiah 66:13

Isaiah 66:13

As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

King James Version (KJV)

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Context

Isaiah 66 closes the book with images of nurture and restoration; this verse pictures God comforting His people with a mother's tenderness in Jerusalem.

What Does Isaiah 66:13 Mean?

Isaiah 66:13 promises that God will comfort His people as tenderly as a mother comforts her child. The image is intimate and gentle: a mother soothing a distressed child, holding and reassuring until the crying stops. God applies this picture to Himself -- "so will I comfort you" -- expressing the depth and tenderness of His care. This is not distant or formal consolation but the closest, most personal comfort imaginable.

The verse comes near the end of Isaiah, in a passage filled with images of nurture and abundance, where Jerusalem is pictured as a mother nursing her children. Now God Himself takes the role of comforter, assuring His people that their sorrow will be answered with His tender care. The repetition -- "comforteth... comfort you... ye shall be comforted" -- drives home the certainty of the promise. And the place is named: "in Jerusalem," the city of God's presence and the focus of restoration. For any reader weighed down by grief or fear, this verse offers one of Scripture's most reassuring portraits of God. The same God who is high and holy stoops to comfort like a mother, meeting His people not with rebuke but with the gentlest consolation a heart can receive.

In the Original Language

The Hebrew nacham means to comfort, console, or bring relief; 'em means mother, grounding the image in a mother's tender care for her child.

Application

When sorrow weighs on you, receive God's comfort as a child receives a mother's embrace, trusting in His tender and personal care.

Keep Studying Isaiah 66

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