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.”
Isaiah 41:25-29
English Standard Version
25 (A)I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
(B)from the rising of the sun, (C)and he shall call upon my name;
he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
26 (D)Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,
and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.
27 (E)I was the first to say[a] to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”
and (F)I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
28 (G)But when I look, there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.
29 (H)Behold, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their metal images are empty wind.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:27 Or Formerly I said
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
