Isaiah 41:1-4
New English Translation
The Lord Challenges the Nations
41 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands![a]
Let the nations find renewed strength!
Let them approach and then speak;
let us come together for debate.[b]
2 Who stirs up this one from the east?[c]
Who[d] officially commissions him for service?[e]
He hands nations over to him,[f]
and enables him to subdue[g] kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like windblown straw with his bow.[h]
3 He pursues them and passes by unharmed;[i]
he advances with great speed.[j]
4 Who acts and carries out decrees?[k]
Who[l] summons the successive generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,
and at the very end—I am the one.[m]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:1 tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV, CEV); TEV “distant lands”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”
- Isaiah 41:1 tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) could be translated “judgment,” but here it seems to refer to the dispute or debate between the Lord and the nations.
- Isaiah 41:2 sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).
- Isaiah 41:2 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.
- Isaiah 41:2 tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”
- Isaiah 41:2 tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”
- Isaiah 41:2 tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yard) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has יוֹרִיד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).
- Isaiah 41:2 sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.
- Isaiah 41:3 tn Heb “[in] peace”; KJV, ASV “safely”; NASB “in safety”; NIV “unscathed.”
- Isaiah 41:3 tn Heb “a way with his feet he does not come [or “enter”].” One could translate, “by a way he was not [previously] entering with his feet.” This would mean that he is advancing into new territory and expanding his conquests. The present translation assumes this is a hyperbolic description of his speedy advance. He moves so quickly he does not enter the way with his feet, i.e., his feet don’t even touch the ground. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 94.
- Isaiah 41:4 tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”
- Isaiah 41:4 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
- Isaiah 41:4 tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”
Isaiah 41:1-4
Common English Bible
Victor from the east
41 Be quiet before me, coastlands.
Let the nations renew their strength.
Let them approach and speak.
Let’s draw near for a judgment.
2 Who has awakened one from the east
and has authority to summon him to serve—
giving him nations,
conquering kings,
making them like dust with his sword,
like scattered straw with his bow?
3 He pursues them and passes untouched,
needing no path for his feet.
4 Who has acted and who has done this,
calling upon generation after generation since the beginning?
I, the Lord, was first,
and I will be the last!
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