There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.

ISAIAH 51:18KJV
Know the Bible

Isaiah 51:18 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 51:18 mean?

Isaiah 51:18 pictures Jerusalem as a mother in distress whose children cannot come to her aid. The city has raised many sons, yet none is able to lead her or take her hand when she needs help.

The speaker addresses Jerusalem as a woman, continuing the image of her staggering in verse 17. Taking someone by the hand suggests the close, steady help a person needs when unable to find her way alone.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 51:18

  • “guide” — נָהַל (nahal): This word can mean to lead or guide with care. Here, the idea fits the picture of someone who needs help finding her way.
  • “taketh” — חָזַק (ḥazaq): This word often means to grasp or hold firmly. With “hand,” it gives the picture of a steadying grip.
  • “up” — גָּדַל (gadal): This word can carry the sense of raising or bringing up. Jerusalem’s “sons” are pictured not only as children she bore but also as children she nurtured.

Why Isaiah 51:18 matters

  • Jerusalem’s “sons” are part of the picture of the city as a mother. The language of bearing and raising them makes the loss of their help especially sharp.
  • The verse stresses the completeness of Jerusalem’s helplessness. “None” is there to guide her, and not one of her sons takes her hand.
  • The passage later names destruction and famine among Jerusalem’s troubles in verse 19. Those losses help explain the desperate setting in which the city needs support.

Where else these words appear

“guide” Hebrew H5095 · used in 10 verses

  • Genesis 33:14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.
  • 2 Chronicles 28:15 And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.
  • Psalms 31:3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.

“up” Hebrew H1431 · used in 112 verses

  • Genesis 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
  • 1 Chronicles 17:24 Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.
  • Isaiah 10:15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.