Isaiah 43:6
in Isaiah 43I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the end of the earth;
KJV
I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
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This verse in Isaiah 43
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(Verses 5-7) Do not fear, for I am with you: I will bring your descendants from the East, and gather you from the West. I will say to the North, give up: and to the South, do not withhold: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth. And everyone who calls upon my name, I have created him for my glory, and I have formed him and made him. LXX: Do not be afraid, for I am with you: I will bring your offspring from the East, and gather you from the West.
This site's exposition
for I am with you
on Isaiah 43:5-7
Do not be afraid returns with a wider promise, a scattered people gathered from the east and the west. The LORD tells the north, Give them up. Verse 7 gives the reason, everyone called by My name and created for My glory, whom I have indeed formed and made.
This site's exposition
I will say to the north
Spurgeon preached this verse as a command the LORD speaks to whole nations, each told to give up the sons and daughters it holds. He read it toward a future return of the Jews to their own land. At one word from God, every hindrance is removed.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, he promises them every kind of liberation from tribulation. First, he promises the benefit of liberation: fear not; from the east, for they had been dispersed in every direction, above: he shall assemble the fugitives of Israel (Isa 11:12); behold I will bring them …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
47 ), Gather us from among the heathen, and in performance of that promise ( Deut. xxx. 4 ), If any of thine be driven to the utmost parts of heaven, thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, which we find pleaded on behalf of the children of the captivity, Neh. i. But who are the seed of Israel that shall be thus carefully gathered in?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
I will say to the north, give up: and to the south, keep not back,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
IN THE FULLNESS of the promised days when the Jews shall be restored from their wanderings, and all the seed of Jacob shall again meet in their own land, God in his mighty providence will speak to all the nations, saying: “To the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back;” and at the divine bidding free passage shall be given, all lets and hindrances shall be removed, and his own people shall come to their own land.
IN THE FULLNESS of the promised days when the Jews shall be restored from their wanderings, and all the seed of Jacob shall again meet in their own land, God in his mighty providence will speak to all the nations, saying: “To the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back;” and at the divine bidding free passage shall be given, all lets and hindrances shall be removed, and his own people shall come to their own land. Entailed on Abraham’s seed by a covenant of salt, the Holy Land shall receive again its rightful heritors, the banished shall come to their own again, and no nation or people shall keep them back. So much for the literal meaning. I am unable to indulge you with fuller details, for I have no skill in guessing at the meaning of dark passages, but leave such things to those to whom it is given, or who think it is given to them. We shall now pursue the spiritual teaching of the passage. At this moment, my brethren and sisters, we who follow the footsteps of King Jesus are soldiers of an army which has invaded this world. This land belongs to our great Leader, for he made it. It was right that everywhere, all round the globe, his name should he honored, for he is the King among the nations, and the governor thereof: But our race has revolted, set up another monarch, and bowed its strength to support another dynasty—the dynasty of darkness and death. Our race has broken the good and wholesome laws of the great Lord, the rightful King, and set up new laws and new customs altogether opposed to right and truth. This is the Great Rebellion the Revolt of Manhood, the Sedition of Sinners.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2799: “The Church Encouraged and Exhorted” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
IF YOU will look at the connection of these words, you will see that they were spoken with the view of encouraging the Church—"Fear not: for I am with you: I will bring your seed from the East, and gather you from the West; I will say to the North, Give up; and to the South, keep not back: bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth." The Lord loves His Church and He loves to see her full of courage and confidence, but, sometimes, her ministers appear to labor in vain and to spend their strength for nothing. The services in connection with the various agencies of the Church appear to be like plowing upon a rock. The bread is cast upon the waters, according to the Lord's command, but it is not found again even after many days have passed away. At such times the Church begins to tremble—she is full of fear. She cannot give up her mission which is the enlightenment of the world, but she is very apt to continue in it with a faint and feeble heart and, consequently, to do what she is doing as a matter of mere routine, with very little zeal, or love, or hope, or joy. Now, Beloved, the Lord would not have it so. He intends that His cause and Kingdom shall prosper in the world. It is written concerning the Messiah, "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He has set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His Law"—and He would not have His people to be discouraged! Does not the farmer, after sowing his seed, wait a long while for the precious fruits of the earth? And for such fruits as those which are to be reaped by us we may well be content to wait, not merely for weeks, or for months, but for centuries! We need not be in such a hurry as we often are. God has great leisure. He lives not merely in time, He inhabits eternity. A thousand years are to Him but as one day, so He can afford to wait.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2799: “The Church Encouraged and Exhorted” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
IF YOU will look at the connection of these words, you will see that they were spoken with the view of encouraging the Church—"Fear not: for I am with you: I will bring your seed from the East, and gather you from the West; I will say to the North, Give up; and to the South, keep not back: bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth."
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I will say to the north, Give up - Give up my people, or restore them to their own land. Bring my sons ... - Bring all my people from the distant lands where they have been driven in their dispersion. This is a beautiful passage. As if all lands were under the control of God, and he could at once command and they would obey, he calls on them to yield up his people to their own country.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֹמַ֤ר | ʾomar | I will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לַצָּפוֹן֙ | latzafon | to the north | H6828 → | 153 times |
| תֵּ֔נִי | teni | deliver up | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| וּלְתֵימָ֖ן | uleteiman | and to [the] south | H8486 → | |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּכְלָ֑אִי | tikhlai | you withhold | H3607 → | |
| הָבִ֤יאִי | havii | bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בָנַי֙ | vanai | sons my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| מֵרָח֔וֹק | merachok | from a distance | H7350 → | 84 times |
| וּבְנוֹתַ֖י | uvenotai | and daughters my | H1323 → | 588 times |
| מִקְצֵ֥ה | miktzeh | from [the] end of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
אֹמַ֤רI will say
ʾomarH559 →5305 times
לַצָּפוֹן֙to the north
latzafonH6828 →153 times
תֵּ֔נִיdeliver up
teniH5414 →2011 times
וּלְתֵימָ֖ןand to [the] south
uleteimanH8486 →
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּכְלָ֑אִיyou withhold
tikhlaiH3607 →
הָבִ֤יאִיbring
haviiH935 →2568 times
בָנַי֙sons my
vanaiH1121 →4930 times
מֵרָח֔וֹקfrom a distance
merachokH7350 →84 times
וּבְנוֹתַ֖יand daughters my
uvenotaiH1323 →588 times
מִקְצֵ֥הfrom [the] end of
miktzehH7097 →97 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 3:14“Return, O faithless children,” declares the LORD, “for I am your master, and I will take you—one from a city and two from a family—and bring you to Zion.
it leads to
- Hosea 2:19–20
So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion.
- Jeremiah 2:19
Your own evil will discipline you; your own apostasies will reprimand you. Consider and realize how evil and bitter it is for you to forsake the LORD your God and to have no fear…
- Jeremiah 31:32
It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was…
- Isaiah 54:5
For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
- Jeremiah 31:8–10
Behold, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, including the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor. They…
- Hosea 2:19–20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1007: “North and South” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2799: “The Church Encouraged and Exhorted” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.