Isaiah 49:12

49:12 Look, they come from far away!

Look, some come from the north and west,

and others from the land of Sinim!

Isaiah 49:20

49:20 Yet the children born during your time of bereavement

will say within your hearing,

‘This place is too cramped for us,

make room for us so we can live here.’


tc The MT reads “Sinim” here; the Dead Sea Scrolls read “Syene,” a location in Egypt associated with modern Aswan. A number of recent translations adopt this reading: “Syene” (NAB, NRSV); “Aswan” (NIV); “Egypt” (NLT).

sn The precise location of the land of Sinim is uncertain, but since the north and west are mentioned in the previous line, it was a probably located in the distant east or south.

tn Heb “me.” The singular is collective.

tn Heb “draw near to me so I can dwell.”