Isaiah 65:24
in Isaiah 65Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
KJV
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
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This verse in Isaiah 65
Commentary
13 notes on this verseBefore they call - God promised, chap. lviii, 9, to answer them, when they called: here he promises to answer the words, as soon as they should be formed in their hearts before they could get them out of their lips.
This site's exposition
before they call, I will answer
“Even before they call, I will answer” pictures a prayer answered before it is spoken. “and while they are still speaking, I will hear” doubles the promise from the other side, the hearing arriving inside the speech itself. The intimacy belongs to the servants the chapter sets apart.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
This is a prediction Isaiah made previously after having announced the growth from the stem of Jesse. Now, we see the fulfillment of this prophecy as rulers and ruled, kings and servants, wise and foolish will share a common table—that is, the teaching of the …
"And the serpent shall eat dust as bread." This is the food that the righteous Judge has assigned to it from the beginning: "On your breast and belly you shall go, and you shall eat earth all the days of your life." And so Isaiah …
(Verse 24) And before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear. LXX: And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer them: while they are yet speaking, I will hear. When they cry out, they are immediately heard, and when they speak, the Lord will say, 'Here I am.' All these things we also see fulfilled according to the letter in the Acts of the Apostles. For all the nations could not have believed in such a short time unless their faith had been somehow forced out by the miracles of signs. For while the Apostles and apostolic men were speaking and shouting out, the Lord would respond with the greatness of signs, such as when Dorcas rose up at the prayers of Peter (Acts 9), when the father of Publius on the island of Melita, who was suffering from fevers and dysentery, which are diseases that are contrary to each other, was healed by the prayers of Paul (Acts 28), and when the whole world declared that gods were walking among men (Acts 28).
A commentator
Gregory of ElviraORIGEN'S TRACTATES ON THE BOOKS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 5:36 · Written before 392.
proposed
The earth will freely give its produce, and all evil will be removed, just as Isaiah said … for God has refashioned such a world in his kingdom just as it had been made in the beginning before the first-made human being ruined it, who …
Or certainly it must be understood that the devil, who previously fed on the deaths of men, will only devour those who are dust and earth: through which everything demonstrates the transformation of evils into good, those who are innocent will be, with the ancient ferocity abandoned: not outside, but on the holy mountain of the Lord, that is, in the Church, and in the confession of that mountain, from which the prince of Tyre was wounded, and having been cut from the mountain without hands, grew into a great mountain, and filled the world (Daniel 2).
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
Fourth, as to the hearing of their prayers: and it shall come to pass, that before they call, with their mouth, above: at the voice of your cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer you (Isa 30:19).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
These are high expressions of God's readiness to hear prayer; and this appears much more in the grace of the gospel than it did under the law; we owe the comfort of it to the mediation of Christ as our advocate with the Father and are obliged in gratitude to give a ready ear to God's calls.
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer,....
But these things are here prophesied of under the type and figure of the difference God would make between some and others of the Jews after their return out of captivity, between those that feared God and those that did not, with reproofs of the sins then found among them and promises of the blessings then in reserve for them.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Before they call, I will answer - I will give them all they crave for, and more than they can desire.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Before they call, I will answer - That is, their desires shall be anticipated, God will see their needs, and he will impart to them the blessings which they need. He will not wait to be applied to for the blessing. How many such blessings do all his people receive at the hand of God! How ready is he to anticipate our needs! How watchful is he of our necessities; and how rich his benevolence in providing for us!
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֥ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| טֶֽרֶם־ | terem- | before | H2962 → | 56 times |
| יִקְרָ֖אוּ | yikrau | they will call | H7121 → | 733 times |
| וַאֲנִ֣י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֶעֱנֶ֑ה | ʾeeneh | I will answer | H6030 → | 331 times |
| ע֛וֹד | od | still | H5750 → | 490 times |
| הֵ֥ם | hem | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| מְדַבְּרִ֖ים | medaberim | [will be] speaking | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וַאֲנִ֥י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֶשְׁמָֽע׃ | ʾeshma' | I will hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
וְהָיָ֥הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
טֶֽרֶם־before
terem-H2962 →56 times
יִקְרָ֖אוּthey will call
yikrauH7121 →733 times
וַאֲנִ֣יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
אֶעֱנֶ֑הI will answer
ʾeenehH6030 →331 times
ע֛וֹדstill
odH5750 →490 times
הֵ֥םthey
hemH1992 →553 times
מְדַבְּרִ֖ים[will be] speaking
medaberimH1696 →1141 times
וַאֲנִ֥יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
אֶשְׁמָֽע׃I will hear
ʾeshma'H8085 →1159 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Mark 11:24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
it leads to
- Matthew 21:22
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- 1 John 3:22
and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.
- James 1:5–6
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Matthew 18:19
Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.
- Matthew 21:22
Through
Psalms 91:15When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
it leads to
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- Psalms 138:7
If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me.
- Psalms 50:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory of Elvira, ORIGEN'S TRACTATES ON THE BOOKS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 5:36; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.25 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.