Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.

ISAIAH 66:9KJV
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Isaiah 66:9 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 66:9 mean?

Isaiah 66:9 uses the image of childbirth to show that God, having brought His people to the point of restoration, will not abandon them before completing His promise. The verse reassures that God will not start a process of deliverance or renewal and then fail to finish it.

In this verse, the LORD is speaking to the people of Israel, who are facing the end of their exile and the hope of returning home. The verse uses the metaphor of a woman giving birth to express God’s faithfulness: just as it would be unthinkable for a woman to go into labor and not give birth, so it is unthinkable that God would begin to restore His people and then stop short. This assurance comes at a time when the people may have doubted whether God’s promises would really come to pass.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 66:9

  • "birth" (שָׁבַר, shavar): This word often means "to break," but here it is used in the sense of "to bring to the point of birth," highlighting the moment right before something new begins.
  • "forth" (יָלַד, yalad): This word means "to bring forth" or "to give birth." It emphasizes the completion of the process, not just the beginning.
  • "shut" (עָצַר, atzar): This word means "to shut up" or "to restrain." In this context, it refers to the idea of closing the womb, making birth impossible, which God says He will not do after bringing to the point of birth.

Why Isaiah 66:9 matters

  • Isaiah 66:9 clears up the misunderstanding that God might abandon His people halfway through His promises; it stresses that God finishes what He starts.
  • The verse emphasizes God’s faithfulness and power, especially in times when fulfillment seems uncertain or delayed.
  • This verse connects to the wider passage by using the childbirth metaphor to describe the coming restoration of Jerusalem and the certainty of God’s plans for His people.

Where else these words appear

“I” Hebrew H589 · used in 13 verses

  • Genesis 6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
  • Exodus 6:12 And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?
  • 2 Samuel 19:43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

“shut” Hebrew H6113 · used in 45 verses

  • Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
  • 1 Kings 8:35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
  • 2 Chronicles 14:11 And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

“birth” Hebrew H7665 · used in 145 verses

  • Genesis 19:9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
  • Psalms 34:20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
  • Jeremiah 30:8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: