Isaiah 51:19

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?

Parallel Translations

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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.

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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 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.

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

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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

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?

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?

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.

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?

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?

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?

Contextual Overview

¹⁷ Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. 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. ¹⁹ 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? ²⁰ Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the Lord , the rebuke of thy God. ²¹ Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: ²² Thus saith thy Lord the Lord , and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: ²³ But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.

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.