Isaiah 41:25-29
Expanded Bible
25 “I have ·brought [stirred up] someone to come out of the north [C Cyrus, king of Persia; 41:2; 44:28—45:6; 46:11; 48:14–16].
·I have called him by name from the east [or…one from the east/rising sun who calls on my name].
He ·walks on kings [tramples on rulers] as if they were ·mud [mortar],
just as a potter ·walks [treads] on the clay.
26 Who ·told us about [declared; decreed] this ·before it happened [L from the beginning]?
Who told us ahead of time so we could say, ‘He was right’?
·None of you [L Indeed no one] told us anything;
·none of you [L indeed no one] told us before it happened;
·no one [L indeed no one] heard you tell about it.
27 I, the Lord, was the first one to tell ·Jerusalem [L Zion] ·that the people were coming home [or “Look, help is coming!”; L “Look, here they are!”].
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news.
28 I ·look at the idols [L look], but there is ·not one that can answer [L no one/man].
None of them can give ·advice [counsel];
none of them can answer my questions.
29 Look, all these idols are ·false [a deception/delusion; or foolish; worthless].
They cannot do anything;
their images are ·worth nothing [wind and confusion/chaos; or empty wind].
Isaiah 41:25-29
New American Standard Bible
25 “I have put (A)one from the north into motion, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon [a](B)mortar,
As the potter treads on clay.”
26 Who has (C)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was (D)no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.
27 “(E)Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a (F)messenger of good news.’
28 But (G)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no (H)counselor [b]among them
Who, if I ask, can (I)give an answer.
29 Behold, all of them are [c]false;
Their (J)works are (K)nothing,
Their cast metal images are (L)wind and emptiness.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:25 I.e., the building material
- Isaiah 41:28 Lit out of those
- Isaiah 41:29 Another reading is nothing
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
