Isaiah 51:19

New Century Version

Troubles came to you two by two, but no one will feel sorry for you. There was ruin and disaster, great hunger and fighting. No one can comfort you.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
These two things have happened to you:devastation and destruction,famine and sword.Who will grieve for you?How can I comfort you?

Hebrew Names Version
These two things are befallen you, who shall bemoan you? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how shall I comfort you?

King James Version
These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?

English Standard Version
These two things have happened to you— who will console you?— devastation and destruction, famine and sword; who will comfort you?

New American Standard Bible
These two things have happened to you; Who will mourn for you? The devastation and destruction, famine and sword; How shall I comfort you?

Amplified Bible
These two tragedies have befallen you; Who will show sympathy for you and mourn with you? The desolation and destruction [on the land and city], famine and sword [on the inhabitants]; How shall I comfort you?

World English Bible
These two things are befallen you, who shall bemoan you? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how shall I comfort you?

Geneva Bible (1587)
These two thinges are come vnto thee: who will lament thee? desolation and destruction and famine, and the sworde: by whome shall I comfort thee?

Legacy Standard Bible
These two things have befallen you;Who will console you?The devastation and destruction, famine and sword;How shall I comfort you?

Berean Standard Bible
These pairs have befallen you: devastation and destruction, famine and sword. Who will grieve for you? Who can comfort you?

Contemporary English Version
You have been destroyed by war and by famine; I cannot comfort you.

Complete Jewish Bible
These two disasters have overcome you — yet who will grieve with you? — plunder and destruction, famine and sword; by whom can I comfort you?

Darby Translation
These two [things] are come unto thee; who will bemoan thee?—desolation and destruction, and famine and sword: how shall I comfort thee?

Easy-to-Read Version
Troubles came to you, Jerusalem, in pairs: Your land was destroyed and lies in ruins, and your people suffered from famine and war. But no one felt sorry for you or showed you mercy.

George Lamsa Translation
These two things are come to you; who shall be sorry for you? You shall have plunder, destruction, famine, and sword; who shall comfort you?

Good News Translation
A double disaster has fallen on you: your land has been devastated by war, and your people have starved. There is no one to show you sympathy.

Lexham English Bible
Two things here have happened to you—who will show sympathy for you?— devastation and destruction, famine and sword—who will comfort you?

Literal Translation
Those two things came to you; who shall grieve for you? Ruin and shattering and famine and the sword, who but I shall comfort you?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Both these thinges are happened vnto the, but who is sory for it? Yee, destruction, waistinge, hunger & swerde: but who hath conforted the?

American Standard Version
These two things are befallen thee, who shall bemoan thee? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how shall I comfort thee?

Bible in Basic English
These two things have come on you; who will be weeping for you? wasting and destruction; death from need of food, and from the sword; how may you be comforted?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
These two things are befallen thee; who shall bemoan thee? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how shall I comfort thee?

King James Version (1611)
These two things are come vnto thee; who shall be sorie for thee? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Both these thinges are happened vnto thee, but who is sory for it? yea destruction, wastyng, hunger, and sworde, but who wyll comfort thee?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Wherefore these things are against thee; who shall sympathize with thee in thy grief? downfall, and destruction, famine, and sword: who shall comfort thee?

English Revised Version
These two things are befallen thee; who shall bemoan thee? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how shall I comfort thee?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Twei thingis ben that camen to thee; who schal be sori on thee? distriyng, and defoulyng, and hungur, and swerd. Who schal coumforte thee?

Update Bible Version
These two things have befallen you, who shall bemoan you? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; [with] whom shall I comfort you?

Webster's Bible Translation
These two [things] have come to thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?

New English Translation
These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you?

New King James Version
These two things have come to you; Who will be sorry for you?-- Desolation and destruction, famine and sword-- By whom will I comfort you?

New Living Translation
These two calamities have fallen on you: desolation and destruction, famine and war. And who is left to sympathize with you? Who is left to comfort you?

New Life Bible
These two things have come upon you: Being laid waste and destroyed, hunger and the sword. Who will have sorrow for you? How can I comfort you?

New Revised Standard
These two things have befallen you —who will grieve with you?— devastation and destruction, famine and sword— who will comfort you?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Twain, are the things befalling thee, Who will lament for thee? Wasting and destruction and f famine and sword By whom shall I comfort thee?

Douay-Rheims Bible
There are two things that have happened to thee: who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword, who shall comfort thee?

Revised Standard Version
These two things have befallen you--who will condole with you? --devastation and destruction, famine and sword; who will comfort you?

Young's Literal Translation
These two are meeting thee, who is moved for thee? Spoiling and destruction -- Famine and sword, who -- I comfort thee?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
These two things have befallen you; Who will mourn for you? The devastation and destruction, famine and sword; How shall I comfort you?

Contextual Overview

¹⁷ Awake! Awake! Get up, Jerusalem. The Lord was very angry with you; your punishment was like wine in a cup. The Lord made you drink that wine; you drank the whole cup until you stumbled. ¹⁸ Jerusalem had many people, but there was not one to lead her. Of all the people who grew up there, no one was there to guide her. ¹⁹ Troubles came to you two by two, but no one will feel sorry for you. There was ruin and disaster, great hunger and fighting. No one can comfort you. ²⁰ Your people have become weak. They fall down and lie on every street corner, like animals caught in a net. They have felt the full anger of the Lord and have heard God's angry shout. ²¹ So listen to me, poor Jerusalem, you who are drunk but not from wine. ²² Your God will defend his people. This is what the Lord your God says: "The punishment I gave you is like a cup of wine. You drank it and could not walk straight. But I am taking that cup of my anger away from you, and you will never be punished by my anger again. ²³ I will now give that cup of punishment to those who gave you pain, who told you, ‘Bow down so we can walk over you.' They made your back like dirt for them to walk on; you were like a street for them to travel on."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

two things: Isaiah 47:9, Ezekiel 14:21

are come: Heb. happened

who shall: Job 2:11, Psalms 69:20, Jeremiah 9:17-21, Lamentations 1:9, Lamentations 1:12, Lamentations 1:17, Amos 7:2

destruction: Heb. breaking

by whom: Isaiah 22:4, Isaiah 61:2, Job 42:11, Ecclesiastes 4:1, Lamentations 1:16, Amos 7:2, 2 Corinthians 7:6, 2 Corinthians 7:7, 2 Corinthians 7:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, 2 Thessalonians 2:17

Reciprocal: Psalms 107:12 - he brought Jeremiah 15:5 - For who Jeremiah 24:10 - General Lamentations 1:2 - none Lamentations 3:47 - Fear Nahum 3:7 - who John 11:19 - to comfort

Gill's Notes on the Bible

These two things are come unto thee,.... Affliction from the hand of God, though by means of enemies, and no friends to help, support, and comfort, as before hinted: or else this respects what follows, after it is said,

who shall be sorry for thee? lament or bemoan thee? they of the earth will rejoice and be glad, and others will not dare to show any concern outwardly, whatever inward grief may be in their breasts, Revelation 11:10,

desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword; which may be the two things before mentioned, for though there are four words, they are reducible to two things, desolation, which is the sword, and by it, and destruction, which is the famine, and comes by that, as Kimchi observes: or the words may be rendered thus, "desolation, and destruction, even the famine and the sword"; so that there is no need of making these things four, and of considering them as distinct from the other two, as the Targum makes them, which paraphrases the whole thus,

"two tribulations come upon thee, O Jerusalem, thou canst not arise; when four shall come upon thee, spoiling and breach, and the famine and the sword, there shall be none to comfort thee but I.''

All this was literally true of Jerusalem, both at the destruction of it by the Chaldeans and by the Romans, and will be mystically true of the church at the slaying of the witnesses by the sword of antichrist; when there will be a famine, not of bread, nor of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord; and which will bring great devastation and desolation on the interest of Christ:

by whom shall I comfort thee? there being no ministry of the word, nor administration of the ordinances, the usual means of comfort, the witnesses being slain; see Lamentations 1:9.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

These two things are come unto thee - Margin, ‘Happened.’ That is, two sources of calamity have come upon thee; to wit, famine and the sword, producing desolation and destruction; or desolation by famine, and destruction by the sword (see Lowth on Hebrew Poetry, Lect. xix.) The idea here is, that far-spread destruction had occurred, caused by the two things, famine and the sword.

Who shall be sorry for thee? - That is, who shall be able so to pity thee as to furnish relief?

Desolation - By famine.

And destruction - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘Breaking.’ refers to the calamities which would be inflicted by the sword. The land would be desolated, and famine would spread over it. This refers, doubtless, to the series of calamities that would come upon it in connection with the invasion of the Chaldeans.

By whom shall I comfort thee? - This intimates a desire on the part of Yahweh to give them consolation. But the idea is, that the land would be laid waste, and that they who would have been the natural comforters should be destroyed. There would be none left to whom a resort could be had for consolation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 51:19. These two things - desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword — That is, desolation by famine, and destruction by the sword, taking the terms alternately: of which form of construction see other examples. De S. Poesi, Heb. Prael. xix., and Prelim. Dissert. p. xxx. The Chaldee paraphrast, not rightly understanding this, has had recourse to the following expedient: "Two afflictions are come upon thee, and when four shall come upon thee, depredation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword - " Five MSS. הרעב haraab, without the conjunction ו vau; and so the Septuagint and Syriac.

By whom shall I comfort thee - "Who shall comfort thee"] A MS., the Septuagint, Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate have it in the third person, ינחמך yenachamech, which is evidently right.