Isaiah 49:17

"Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are continually before me."

Key Reflection

Isaiah 49:17 expresses God's deep and enduring affection for Israel. By saying, "Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands," God conveys a sense of intimate care, as if He carries His people close to His heart at all times. The metaphor of engraving also implies permanence—God’s remembrance of Israel is not fleeting but eternal. Furthermore, "Your walls are continually before me" reinforces this idea by emphasizing that God constantly keeps Israel in His mind and vision, highlighting the covenantal relationship between God and His people. This verse underscores God's unwavering commitment to His chosen nation, even as it stands in contrast with their current desolation and abandonment.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Thy children -The children of Zion - the true people of God. But there is here considerable variety in the interpretation. The Hebrew of the present text isבניךbânâyı̂k(“thy sons”). But Jerome reads it,Structores tui- ‘Thy builders;’ as if it wereבונין. The Septuagint renders it, ‘Thou shalt be speedily built (ταχὺ οἰκοδομηθήσῃtachuoikodomēthēsē) by those by whom thou hast been destroyed.’ The Chaldee renders it, ‘Those that rebuild thy waste places shall hasten.’ The Syriac reads it, ‘Thy sons;’ and the Arabic, ‘Thou shalt be rebuilt by those by whom thou hast been destroyed.’ But there is no good authority for changing the present Hebrew text. nor is it necessary.

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