Isaiah 49:22-23 meaning

Isaiah 49:22-23 is a continuation to the second of four Servant Songs in Isaiah. It is also a continuation of the fourth “verse” of this Song. The second Servant Song is broken up into sections or “verses” which are in turn “sung” by various “singers”/speakers.

Isaiah 49:15-21 began the fourth “verse” of the Song. The context shows that the “singer” or speaker of this verse is the LORD.

In this “verse,” the LORD is responding to Zion’s (the people of Israel’s) accusations about how the LORD has forsaken and forgotten (Isaiah 49:14). Isaiah 49:14 was the third “verse” of this Servant Song. Therefore, the first part of the fourth “verse” (Isaiah 49:15-21) is a direct response to its third “verse.”

This section (Isaiah 49:22-23) continues this, but it shifts its perspective from Zion’s to the Lord GOD’s.

In the previous section (Isaiah 49:15-21), Zion was astonished at the LORD’s favor and amazing redemption of her. In this part of the “verse” the Lord GOD says what He will do.

In addition to a perspective change there is a tense change. The previous section was speaking in a “future-present” tense or a “prophetic present,” that is, it was describing future events as though they were in the present. This section shifts to a simple future. It is still prophetic but speaks of what the LORD will do.

The final portion of this verse begins:

Thus says the Lord GOD (v 22a).

This identifies the “singer” as the Lord GOD who says what follows.

Here the Lord is identified by both His title—“Adonai”—translated as Lord, and His covenant name—“Yahweh”—translated here as GOD.

Yahweh is usually translated as “LORD”—all capital letters. The reason the translators decided to translate it in this instance as GOD with all capital letters was to avoid the potentially confusing expression “Lord, LORD.”

This is what the Lord GOD says to Zion:

Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My standard to the peoples;
And they will bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders (v. 22).

This verse returns to one of the main themes of Isaiah’s second Servant Song, namely that the Lord’s salvation will come to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:1, 6, 7, 12,). GOD declares His intention to include the nations and the peoples (Gentiles) in the restoration of His people (Israel).

This prophetic theme has been and is continuing to be fulfilled during the interim between Jesus’s ascension into heaven and His return. The good news of the Messiah, Jesus, has spread throughout the earth. This good news is God’s invitation to receive the Gift of Eternal Life by simple faith in Jesus as God’s Son, and to inherit the reward of having a prominent place within His kingdom. This reward comes by overcoming life’s trials by faith as He overcame them (Revelation 3:21).

The book of Acts, beginning with the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:25-39) and culminating with Paul preaching the Gospel “with all openness and unhindered” (Acts 28:31) while he awaited his trial in Rome reveals the initial fulfillments of the prophecies concerning the Gentiles in Isaiah 49.

Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations...

The raising of the hand by a sovereign ruler was a powerful gesture in the ancient Near East. It symbolized authority, command, and action.

The Lord is portrayed as summoning the nations (Gentiles) with a raised hand, signaling them to respond to His will. This action demonstrates that the Lord is not only the God of Israel but also sovereign over all nations.

The imagery of the Lord lifting up His hand to the nations and setting up His standard to the peoples conveys His authority and sovereignty over the Gentiles, grafting them in so they can participate in the divine plan for Israel’s renewal and share in His blessings.

And set up My standard to the peoples…

The setting up of a standard—a banner or signal—was often used in warfare or to rally people to a cause. Here, the Lord uses the imagery of a standard to signify His call to the peoples of the world, Gentiles “from the north… west… and… from the land of Sinim” (Isaiah 49:12).

This is a prophetic vision of the Gentiles being drawn into God’s redemptive work. The imagery of the Lord lifting up His hand to the nations and setting up His standard to the peoples conveys His authority and sovereignty over the Gentiles, grafting them in so they can participate in the divine plan for Israel’s renewal and share in His blessings (Romans 11:17).

The standard is not just a sign of gathering but also a symbol of God’s kingdom authority and His power to bring together those who were once scattered.

And they will bring your sons in their bosom, 
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

The Lord GOD describes the Gentile nations carrying Zion’s sons and daughters back to their homeland with tenderness. The phrase in their bosom describes how the Gentiles will embrace Zion’s children with genuine love. Similarly, on their shoulders depicts the nations' willing support and assistance in restoring Israel.

These images stand in stark contrast to the typical posture of nations towards Israel, which is often hostile and sinister. Rather than being captors or oppressors, the peoples of the earth will become compassionate carriers and servants in Zion’s restoration.

This reversal of roles highlights the radical nature of GOD’s redemptive plan.

The Lord will transform Zion’s enemies into enthusiastic participants in His work of renewal. The prophecy foretells a time when the nations will no longer be antagonists but allies in the gathering of Israel’s exiles. This not only reveals God’s compassion for His people but also His ability to turn hearts and align all creation with His redemptive purposes.

The prophecies of verse 22 were fulfilled (in part) around 538 B.C. when the Persian king Cyrus issued a decree allowing the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon (Ezra 1:1-4). The return of the exiles was aided by the nations surrounding Israel, including the Persians, who supported the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple.

This event was crucial in the restoration of Zion from having been destroyed and the people exiled (2 Kings 25:9, 11). It appears to be one fulfillment of the prophecy where foreign nations lift up Israel’s sons and daughters. This fulfillment occurred roughly 200 years after Isaiah wrote this prophecy.

A second fulfilment of the prophecies stating that the Lord GOD will lift up His hand to the nations so that they will bring Zion’s sons in their bosom and carry Zion’s daughters on their shoulders appears to have occurred thousands of years later in 1948 A.D.

Following the Jewish Holocaust of the 1930-40s, nations from every continent such as the United States of America, the Soviet Union, Uruguay, South Africa, and the Philippines supported and recognized the modern nation state of Israel.

Isaiah 49:22 is a declaration of God's sovereign plan to bring about a complete restoration of Zion, involving not only His people but also the nations of the world. The LORD’s actions serve as a reminder that His purposes are grand and comprehensive, extending beyond Israel to include all peoples. That would indicate that there is an additional prophetic fulfillment still in the future (as of this writing).

His promise to set up His standard to the peoples so that they will bring Zion’s sons and daughters back home points to a future where God’s kingdom will encompass the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). The redeemed will include peoples from every nation, tribe, and tongue (Revelation 7:9).

Jesus, the Messiah, is the Lord’s standard that He will set up to the peoples. Jesus is the Lord’s banner who gathers both Jews and Gentiles into one family. Jesus explained to His disciples:

“If I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
(John 12:32)

Jesus being lifted up on the cross fulfills the prophetic image of the Lord’s standard being set up. And the subsequent spread of the Gospel to all nations reveals how His standard of mercy is drawing the peoples to Himself.

After Jesus returns to the earth a second time there will be perfect harmony and unity under His righteous rule (2 Peter 3:13). When these things take place, “all flesh will know that I the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, and the Mighty One of Jacob” (Isaiah 49:26).

The recognition that the Lord is GOD by all peoples will be the final fulfillment of these prophecies.

The Lord GOD continues to unveil His vision of Israel’s future restoration, emphasizing the reversal of power and status:

Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth
And lick the dust of your feet;
And you will know that I am the LORD;
Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame (v. 23).

Here the Lord GOD describes a time when the rulers and nobles of the nations, once hostile or indifferent to Zion, will humble themselves before Israel. This verse powerfully communicates the honor and vindication that the Lord promises His people. God lifts up Zion, the oppressed, and humiliates their oppressors.

This fulfillment will likely occur at the time when Jesus, Israel’s Messiah, has returned to earth and has inaugurated His earthly kingdom (Revelation 7:15).

This principle of the powerful becoming the humble and the humble becoming the powerful is seen in Jesus’s (the Messiah’s) teachings:

“But many who are first will be last; and the last first.”
(Matthew 19:30)

“So the last shall be first, and the first last.”
(Matthew 20:16)

Kings will be your guardians, and their princesses your nurses.

The expression kings will be your guardians and their princesses your nurses presents a radical reversal of roles. The royalty of earthly kingdoms, those who were once powerful and independent now become servants to Israel.

This language implies both protection and nurture—kings will guard and protect the people of Zion. Princesses will care for them like nurses for children. The picture here is one of genuine devotion and service from the world’s most powerful to God’s chosen people, demonstrating the LORD’s sovereignty over all earthly powers.

This could, in part, foreshadow that the new rulers in Jesus’s Messianic kingdom are those who have qualified themselves as servants. This could be those who overcame in the same manner as Jesus, and received the reward of reigning with Him (Revelation 3:21, Hebrews 2:9-10, Romans 8:17b).

This future prophecy aligns with the past aid of foreign kings, such as King Cyrus of Persia. Cyrus not only allowed the Jews to return but also provided financial support and protection for the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 6:1-12). Another Persian king, Artaxerxes I, showed favor to Nehemiah in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls (Nehemiah 2:1-8). These instances demonstrate how foreign kings became Israel’s guardians and nurses. They might serve as foreshadowings of this yet-future time (as of this writing, 2024).

These lines are also prophetic of Jesus, the Messiah.

Jesus is the ultimate King who serves His people (Matthew 20:28). In His lamentation of Jerusalem, Jesus revealed His nurturing character when He spoke to Zion in language similar to a nursing mother, when He said:

“How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”
(Matthew 23:37b)

Jesus the King’s sacrifice of Himself embodies servanthood. Jesus is Zion’s guardian and nurse. His example and His life, death, and resurrection provide spiritual nourishment and guidance to His followers. And they point the way to a deeper spiritual reality to which the prophecy points, that our true fulfillment lies in faithful service.

They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth and lick the dust of your feet;

The scene becomes even more striking as it describes the nations’ leaders performing acts of deep humility and reverence before Israel. To bow down with their faces to the earth and to lick the dust of your feet are expressions of extreme submission and honor. This indicates that not only will those reigning in Christ’s kingdom be servants, but also those who might have been past tyrants to Israel will now humble themselves.

Bowing down to someone with their faces to the earth was a posture reserved for the highest reverence, usually performed before a king or deity. Kings were customarily the people who were bowed down to, but here the LORD tells Zion that kings will bow down to you.

Licking the dust of someone’s feet was a sign of total surrender and humiliating admittance of being defeated. This expression may allude to how sometimes after a military defeat or being conquered, the commanders of vanquished armies or leaders of towns were sometimes required to publicly lick the dust of their conqueror’s feet. This humiliating gesture demonstrated that the defeated were entirely submissive to the new authority. The LORD promised Zion that she would see the day when her enemies would be utterly defeated.

The prophetic image Isaiah presents is similar to (and perhaps even more startling than) Joseph’s dreams. In those dreams, Joseph’s brothers’ sheaves of wheat bowed down before his own elevated sheaf (Genesis 37:6-7) and the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to him (Genesis 37:9). His brothers chaffed at the idea, and abused Joseph. But they eventually did bow down to Joseph with their faces to the earth when the LORD elevated him as a ruler of Egypt (Genesis 42:6). This might be a prophetic picture, indicating that those who rejected and abused Israel might one day bow down before him.

In Isaiah’s prophetic vision, these powerful rulers recognize Zion’s elevated status in God’s plan. Their submission reflects the LORD's exaltation of His people above the nations.

This reversal indicates not only political restoration but also spiritual recognition. The nations will acknowledge the unique relationship between the LORD and His chosen people. In bowing before Zion, these kings are ultimately bowing before the LORD and confessing their humility before the God of Israel.

This instance reflects one of the Bible’s most common themes: the lowly are raised up, and the mighty are brought low.

Interestingly, the LORD’s prophetic promise to exalt Zion over her enemies is similar to His promise to exalt the Messiah after He suffers humiliation at the hands of His enemies.

We see the Messiah’s humiliation at the hands of His enemies in:

• Psalm 22:1-18
• Psalm 35:1-8
• Psalm 35:11-17
• Psalm 35:19-21
• Isaiah 50:5-6
• Isaiah 53:3-9

We see the Messiah’s exaltation over His enemies in:

• Psalm 22:19-31
• Psalm 35:9-10
• Psalm 35:18
• Psalm 35:22-28
• Isaiah 50:7-11
• Isaiah 53:10-12

The Apostle Paul demonstrates how Jesus fulfilled these Messianic prophecies as He was obedient to God to the point of death on a cross at the hands of His enemies (Philippians 2:8). Then Jesus was exalted by the LORD because of His faithfulness so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow to His Lordship (Philippians 2:9-11).

And as the Messiah and Zion are both humbled and then exalted by God, so are those who follow Jesus exhorted to expect and follow a similar pattern of humility and exaltation.

God makes similar promises to all who follow Jesus’s example of living by faith and patiently enduring and suffering with Him (Matthew 19:27-30, Romans 8:17-18, 2 Timothy 2:12a, Hebrews 12:1-3; 1 Peter 5:6).

The fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy is a sign for Zion. When Israel sees kings bowing down to her and licking the dust of her feet, then they will know that God is the LORD.

And you will know that I am the LORD;

When this happens, Zion will no longer think that “the Lord has forgotten me” (Isaiah 49:14b). Israel will know that the LORD is God, who keeps His promises (Romans 11:29).

The phrase you will know that I am the LORD is a recurring theme in the book of Isaiah and the Bible. It signifies a moment of revelation and recognition for God’s people and/or the world, where His promises are fulfilled and His character is revealed as faithful and true. The humility of Zion’s enemies and Zion’s own exaltation over them will serve as an unmistakable sign to Israel of the LORD's power, faithfulness, and sovereignty.

Isaiah 49:23 concludes with a prophetic encouragement:

Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.

This concluding phrase is meant to reassure Zion during her present lowly state.

To hopefully wait for the LORD involves trust, patience, and an expectation that He will deliver them from their troubles. The promise that such hope will not lead to shame reinforces the certainty of God’s redemptive work.

Zion’s past experiences of shame and disgrace resulting from defeat and oppression, and Zion’s future shame and humiliation of exile will be reversed. Instead of shame, there will be honor, vindication, and glory for those who remain steadfast in their faith as they hopefully wait for the LORD.

Isaiah 49:23 is not only a prophetic promise of political and social reversal but also a spiritual assurance of the LORD’s unwavering commitment to His covenant people. It calls Israel to recognize that their ultimate hope lies not in the might of nations but in the LORD, who will vindicate and elevate His people in His perfect time.

Isaiah 49:23 is also prophetic of Jesus, the Messiah. He is the ultimate King who serves His people (Matthew 20:28). In His lamentation of Jerusalem, Jesus revealed His gentle character when He spoke to Zion in language similar to a nursing mother (Matthew 23:37b).

Jesus’s sacrifice of Himself upon the cross embodies both kingship and servanthood. His example and His life, death, and resurrection provide spiritual nourishment and guidance to His followers. They also point to the deeper spiritual reality that our fulfillment comes through sacrificial service (Romans 12:1-2).

Depending on how Isaiah 49:24 is understood, this verse possibly concludes the fourth verse of Isaiah’s second Servant Song.