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Isaiah 41

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God Challenges the Nations to Trial 1–4

1
Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment. ​
2
Who hath raised up one from the east, whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow. ​
3
He pursueth them, and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet.
4
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last, I am he. ​

Nations Fear and Rely on Idols 5–7

5
The isles have seen, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come.
6
They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage.
7
So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that it should not be moved. ​

Comfort and Assurance for Israel 8–16

8
But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, ​
9
thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away;
10
fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. ​
11
Behold, all they that are incensed against thee shall be put to shame and confounded: they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, and shall perish.
12
Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
13
For I, Jehovah thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. ​
14
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith Jehovah, and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. ​
15
Behold, I have made thee to be a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. ​
16
Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Miraculous Provision and Restoration 17–20

17
The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. ​
18
I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. ​
19
I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, the pine, and the box-tree together:
20
that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. ​

God Challenges the Idols Again 21–29

21
Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. ​
22
Let them bring forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come. ​
23
Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.
24
Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you. ​
25
I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. ​
26
Who hath declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is right? yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. ​
27
I am the first that saith unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. ​
28
And when I look, there is no man: even among them there is no counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word.
29
Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nought; their molten images are wind and confusion. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 41

Verse 1

let the people renew their strength — 'Renew' is chalaph, the verb of 40:31, where those who wait on the LORD 'renew their strength'. 'Judgment' is mishpat, the word of Israel's complaint in 40:27; the nations are summoned to it as to a trial, with 'islands' (iy) the coastlands of 40:15. Hab 2:20 has 'let all the earth keep silence before him'.

Verse 2

the righteous man from the east — Some read him as Abraham, called from beyond the flood in the east (Josh 24:2); others as Cyrus, named in 44:28 and 45:1 ('to his anointed, to Cyrus'), whose decree is in Ezra 1:2. 'Raised up' is ur, to rouse, the verb of v.25, 'I have raised up one from the north'. 'Righteous' is tsedeq, the word of 'my righteousness' in v.10.

Verse 4

the first, and with the last — The title is given again in 44:6, 'I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God', and in 48:12. Christ takes it in Rev 1:17, 'I am the first and the last', and Rev 22:13. 'Generations' is dor, the word of 38:12 and 53:8; the LORD calls them 'from the beginning'.

Verse 7

he fastened it with nails — 'Encouraged' and 'fastened' are one verb, chazaq, to make strong; the LORD uses it of himself in v.13, 'will hold thy right hand'. 'Sodering' is deveq, a joint. Jeremiah describes the same work: 'they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not' (Jer 10:4).

Verse 8

Abraham my friend — 'Friend' is ohev, from ahav, to love. 2 Chr 20:7 has 'Abraham thy friend', and James 2:23 quotes the title, 'the Friend of God'. 'Chosen' is bachar, the verb of v.24, where the one who chooses idols is called 'an abomination'. 'Jacob' and 'Israel' are named together also in 44:1.

Verse 10

Fear thou not — 'Be not dismayed' is sha'ah, to look about anxiously for help. The answer is three verbs, amats (strengthen), azar (help) and tamak (uphold), and the 'right hand' that is held in v.13. 'Fear not' is repeated in vv.13–14, and 'Fear not: for I am with thee' begins Isa 43:5.

Verse 13

will hold thy right hand — The verb is chazaq, to make strong, the one used of the workmen in v.7 ('encouraged', 'fastened'): they steady an image with nails, and the LORD steadies his people by the hand. Ps 73:23 has the same gesture, 'thou hast holden me by my right hand'. 'Fear not; I will help thee' follows.

Verse 14

thou worm Jacob — 'Worm' is tola', the crimson grub, the word of Ps 22:6, 'I am a worm, and no man'. 'Men' is math, a word that elsewhere means 'few' (Gen 34:30, 'I being few in number'). 'Redeemer' is go'el, the kinsman who buys back (Lev 25:25); the LORD takes the office, as 'the Holy One of Israel'.

Verse 15

a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth — Morag, a threshing sledge, the 'threshing instruments' of 2 Sam 24:22 and 1 Chr 21:23. The 'worm' of v.14 is made the sledge that threshes 'the mountains'; v.16 completes the picture: 'Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away'. Micah 4:13 has the same image: 'Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion'.

Verse 17

I the LORD will hear them — 'Hear' is anah, to answer. The thirst of 'the poor and needy' is met by water in v.18, and in 44:3 water and the Spirit are joined: 'I will pour water upon him that is thirsty… I will pour my spirit upon thy seed'. Christ cries, 'If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink' (John 7:37).

Verse 18

I will open rivers in high places — 'High places' is shephi, bare hills, and the 'pool' is agam, standing water. The same reversal is in Isa 35:6–7 and Ps 107:35, and an earlier instance is the rock in the wilderness: 'Which turned the rock into a standing water' (Ps 114:8). Verse 19 adds the trees planted there.

Verse 20

the Holy One of Israel hath created it — 'Created' is bara, the verb of Gen 1:1 and 'Creator' in 40:28, here used of the water and trees of vv.18–19. Four verbs are named, 'see, and know, and consider, and understand'; the hand that has done it is the LORD's, as in Job 12:9, 'the hand of the LORD hath wrought this'.

Verse 21

Produce your cause — 'Cause' is riv, a legal dispute, the word of Mic 6:2, 'the LORD hath a controversy with his people'. 'Strong reasons' is atsumah, an argument or bulwark, found only here. The trial summoned in v.1 resumes, and 'King of Jacob' is a title found only here.

Verse 22

shew the former things — 'Former things' (rishonot) and 'the latter end' (acharit) span past and future; the LORD claims the same for himself, 'Declaring the end from the beginning' (Isa 46:10). 'Consider' is literally 'set our heart'. The test of a word from God is stated in Deut 18:22: 'if the thing follow not, nor come to pass'.

Verse 24

an abomination is he that chooseth you — 'Chooseth' is bachar, the verb of v.8, 'Jacob whom I have chosen'. 'Nothing' is ayin, as in 'an idol is nothing in the world' (1 Cor 8:4). Ps 115:8 says that those who make idols 'are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them'.

Verse 25

from the rising of the sun — The same verb is used in v.2 of the man 'from the east' and here of one 'from the north', read as Cyrus (44:28; 45:1). 'Princes' (segan) are governors, trodden 'as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay'. Isa 44:28 names Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd', and Ezra 1:2 has him speaking of 'the LORD God of heaven'.

Verse 26

that we may say, He is righteous? — 'Declared' is nagad, the verb of v.22. 'Righteous' is tsaddiq, here 'in the right', the verdict a true prediction would earn. Three denials end the trial: 'there is none that sheweth… none that declareth… none that heareth your words'. The LORD then names his own witnesses (43:10; 44:8).

Verse 27

The first shall say to Zion — 'The first' is rishon, the word of v.4, 'I the LORD, the first', and of the 'former things' in v.22. The herald is the 'one that bringeth good tidings' (basar) of 40:9, with Isa 52:7 and Nahum 1:15 describing his feet on the mountains.

Verse 29

their molten images are wind and confusion — 'Vanity' is aven, nothingness, a word that can also mean an idol. 'Wind' is ruach, the word of 'the Spirit of the LORD' in 40:13. 'Confusion' is tohu, the 'without form' of Gen 1:2, also the 'vanity' of 40:17 and 44:9.