Isaiah 41:25-29
Christian Standard Bible
25 “I have stirred up one from the north,(A) and he has come,
one from the east(B) who invokes my[a] name.(C)
He will march over rulers as if they were mud,
like a potter who treads the clay.
26 Who told about this from the beginning,
so that we might know,
and from times past,
so that we might say, ‘He is right’?
No one announced it,
no one told it,
no one heard your words.
27 I was the first to say to Zion,[b]
‘Look! Here they are!’
And I gave Jerusalem a herald with good news.(D)
28 When I look, there is no one;
there is no counselor among them;
when I ask them, they have nothing to say.(E)
29 Look, all of them are a delusion;[c]
their works are nonexistent;
their images are wind and emptiness.
Isaiah 41:25-29
New English Translation
25 I have stirred up one out of the north[a] and he advances,
one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name.[b]
He steps on[c] rulers as if they were clay,
like a potter treading the clay.
26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?
Who announced it[d] ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?
Indeed, none of them decreed it.
Indeed, none of them announced it.
Indeed, no one heard you say anything!
27 I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here’s what will happen!’[e]
I sent a herald to Jerusalem.
28 I look, but there is no one,
among them there is no one who serves as an adviser,
that I might ask questions and receive answers.
29 Look, all of them are nothing,[f]
their accomplishments are nonexistent;
their metal images lack any real substance.[g]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:25 sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.
- Isaiah 41:25 tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”
- Isaiah 41:25 tn The Hebrew text has וְיָבֹא (veyavoʾ, “and he comes”), but this likely needs to be emended to an original וַיָּבָס (vayyavas), from בּוּס (bus, “step on”).
- Isaiah 41:26 tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
- Isaiah 41:27 tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “First to Zion, ‘Look here they are!’” The words “I decreed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Isaiah 41:29 tc The Hebrew text has אָוֶן (ʾaven, “deception,” i.e., “false”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has אין (“nothing”), which forms a better parallel with אֶפֶס (ʾefes, “nothing”) in the next line. See also 40:17 and 41:12.
- Isaiah 41:29 tn Heb “their statues are wind and nothing”; NASB “wind and emptiness”; NIV “wind and confusion.”
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