Isaiah 42 14

Isaiah 42:14 kjv

I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.

Isaiah 42:14 nkjv

"I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once.

Isaiah 42:14 niv

"For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.

Isaiah 42:14 esv

For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant.

Isaiah 42:14 nlt

He will say, "I have long been silent;
yes, I have restrained myself.
But now, like a woman in labor,
I will cry and groan and pant.

Isaiah 42 verses

Isaiah 42 14 Meaning

Isaiah 42:14 powerfully declares the LORD God's decisive shift from a period of patient forbearance to intense, forceful action. He proclaims an end to His long-held silence and self-restraint, announcing that He will now intervene dramatically, likened to a woman in the strenuous throes of childbirth, to execute judgment upon oppressors and bring about deliverance and a new era for His people.

Isaiah 42 14 Context

Isaiah chapter 42 initiates the first of the "Servant Songs," introducing the chosen Servant of the LORD. Before verse 14, the chapter describes this Servant's gentle, just, and global mission (vv. 1-7). God then reaffirms His exclusive deity, contrasting Himself with idols by proclaiming new events before they occur (vv. 8-9). This sets the stage for a dramatic announcement. Immediately prior, God is depicted as a formidable warrior, rousing Himself with zeal to confront His foes (v. 13). Verse 14 then marks a crucial pivot, addressing the perceived divine inactivity and silence that had troubled the exiled Israelites during their captivity in Babylon (586-538 BC). It announces an end to this period of patient endurance, signaling an imminent, powerful, and transformative intervention by God, challenging any doubts about His active involvement and supreme power against the impotence of false gods.

Isaiah 42 14 Word analysis

• "I have been silent":

  • Hebrew: Ḥashiti (חָשִׁיתִי) – Meaning 'I have been silent', 'I kept still'. This implies a deliberate and prolonged period of not speaking or openly acting, chosen by God.
  • Significance: Highlights God's intentional withholding of direct intervention, allowing circumstances to develop.

• "a long time":

  • Emphasizes the significant duration of God's perceived non-action or patience, affirming the exiles' experience of delayed deliverance.
  • Significance: Underlines the profound contrast with the intense action now announced, making the impending intervention even more powerful.

• "I have held My peace":

  • Hebrew: Ḥarash'ti (הֶחֱרַשְׁתִּי) – Meaning 'I made myself deaf', 'I was silent', 'I did not respond'. This denotes a deliberate restraint from reaction or intervention, not mere quietness, often in the face of provocation.
  • Significance: Reinforces God's sovereign control and patience, choosing not to manifest His power despite injustices.

• "and restrained Myself":

  • Hebrew: Et'appaq (אֶתְאַפָּק) – Meaning 'I restrained myself', 'I held back', 'I suppressed My feelings/actions'. This speaks of active self-control over His inherent power and indignation.
  • Significance: Demonstrates that God's prior inactivity was not weakness or indifference, but a conscious, controlled, and strategic delay.

• "Now I will cry out":

  • Hebrew: 'Etza'aq (אֶצְעַק) – Meaning 'I will cry out', 'I will shout aloud'. This marks an immediate and dramatic shift from silence to forceful vocal expression and decisive action.
  • Significance: Signifies the commencement of God's open, undeniable, and vigorous intervention in human history.

• "like a woman in labor":

  • Hebrew: K'yolēdāh (כְּיוֹלֵדָה) – Meaning 'like one giving birth', 'like a woman in travail'. This vivid simile conveys immense physical exertion, intense pain, powerful struggle, and inevitable pushing towards a specific, transformative outcome.
  • Significance: Portrays God's coming action as an overwhelmingly forceful and painful process, not of suffering distress for Himself, but of strenuous, productive effort that will bring about a new reality—judgment and deliverance.

• "I will gasp and pant together":

  • Hebrew: 'Eshōm (אֶשֹּׁם) – 'I will gasp', 'I will breathe heavily'; and 'Esha'af (אֶשְׁאָף) – 'I will inhale sharply', 'I will draw breath' (combined for intense, laborious breathing).
  • Significance: This pair of verbs emphasizes the physical, exhaustive, and sustained effort involved in God's impending actions. It graphically reinforces the imagery of the intense, strenuous process of childbirth, signaling that God's intervention will require massive divine exertion to bring His purposes to fruition.

Isaiah 42 14 Bonus section

The intense anthropomorphism in Isaiah 42:14 is striking and serves to convey the depth of God's emotional and volitional involvement in human affairs. While God is beyond human form or limitation, using imagery like "crying out," "gasping," and "panting" allows the audience to grasp the extreme exertion and determined will of the Almighty. This dramatic language functions as a strong polemic against the lifeless and impotent idols worshipped by other nations, which are silent because they are inert. The God of Israel, by contrast, demonstrates a powerful, living reality, shifting from deliberate silence to explosive, redemptive action. The suffering of Israel in exile was a waiting period for God's precise moment, which He declares is now at hand, not out of emotional weakness, but out of His controlled strength leading to a divine breakthrough.

Isaiah 42 14 Commentary

Isaiah 42:14 serves as a profound declaration of God's shift from a period of patient observation to overwhelming, decisive action. The LORD had been silent, held His peace, and restrained His power for a long time—a divine strategy that likely led to the exiles' feelings of abandonment and doubt during their captivity. This silence, however, was not indifference but a deliberate act of sovereign timing, allowing events to mature. The phrase "Now I will cry out like a woman in labor" does not indicate a passive God in pain, but an active, fiercely exerting God engaged in a profound and strenuous 'birthing' process. This vivid anthropomorphism speaks of the painful, yet powerful and determined, effort required to bring forth a new era of judgment for the wicked and glorious salvation for His people. The "gasp and pant" emphasize the tremendous, exhaustive divine energy committed to this task, assuring His people that His upcoming intervention will be undeniably manifest, irreversible, and profoundly transformative, creating a new and righteous order out of chaos and oppression.