Amplified Bible
Isaiah 45:20
20“Assemble yourselves and come; Come together, you survivors of the nations! They are ignorant, Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle] And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them.
Isaiah 45:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
- New International Version (NIV)“Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save.
Context of Isaiah 45:20
18For the Lord, who created the heavens (He is God, who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it to be a wasteland, but formed it to be inhabited) says this, “I am the Lord, and there is no one else. 19I have not spoken in secret, In a corner of a land of darkness; I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain [with no benefit for yourselves].’ I, the Lord, speak righteousness [the truth—trustworthy, a straightforward correlation between deeds and words], Declaring things that are upright. “Assemble yourselves and come; Come together, you survivors of the nations! They are ignorant, Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle] And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them. 21Declare and present your defense of idols; Indeed, let them consult together. Who announced this [rise of Cyrus and his conquests] long before it happened? Who declared it long ago? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A [consistently and uncompromisingly] just and righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. 22Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.
Read all of Isaiah 45Isaiah 45:20 word by word
הִקָּבְצ֥וּ וָבֹ֛אוּ הִֽתְנַגְּשׁ֥וּ יַחְדָּ֖ו פְּלִיטֵ֣י הַגּוֹיִ֑ם לֹ֣א יָדְע֗וּ הַנֹּֽשְׂאִים֙ אֶת־עֵ֣ץ פִּסְלָ֔ם וּמִתְפַּלְלִ֔ים אֶל־אֵ֖ל לֹ֥א יוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Assembleקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- yourselves and comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- draw nearנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: approachH5066
- togetherיָחְדָּוyachad · togetherH3162
- escapedפָּלִיטpâlîyţ pâlêyţ pâlêţ · survivorH6412
- of the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- they have no knowledgeיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- that set upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375
- the woodעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
- of their graven imageפֶּ֫סֶלpesel · idolH6459
- and prayפָּלַלpâlal · to prayH6419
- unto a godאֵל'êl · godH410
- cannot saveיָשַׁעyâsha‛ · to saveH3467
Cross-references for Isaiah 45:20
- Isaiah 41:5The islands and coastlands have seen and they fear; The ends of the earth tremble; They have drawn near and have come.
- Isaiah 43:9All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them (the idolaters) can predict this [that Judah would return from captivity] And proclaim to us the former events? Let them provide their witnesses so that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say [in acknowledgement], “It is the truth.”
- Isaiah 4:2In that day the Branch of the Lord will be splendid and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be excellent and lovely to those of Israel who have survived.
- Jeremiah 25:15For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it.
- Jeremiah 50:28Listen to the voice of the refugees who flee and escape from the land of Babylon, Proclaiming in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, The vengeance [of the Lord against the Chaldeans] for [plundering and destroying] His temple.
- Jeremiah 51:6Flee out of Babylon, Let every one of you save his life! Do not be destroyed in her punishment, For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He is going to pay her what she has earned.
- Ephesians 2:12remember that at that time you were separated from Christ [excluded from any relationship with Him], alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise [with no share in the sacred Messianic promise and without knowledge of God’s agreements], having no hope [in His promise] and [living] in the world without God.
- Revelation 18:3For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her [sexual] immorality, and the kings and political leaders of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth and economic power of her sensuous luxury.”
- Isaiah 42:17Those who trust in carved idols will be turned back, And utterly put to shame, Who say to cast images, “You are our gods.”
- Isaiah 44:17But from what is left of the wood he makes a god, his carved idol. He falls down before it, he worships it and prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
- Isaiah 46:7They lift it on their shoulders [in religious processions or into battle] and carry it; They set it in its place and there it remains standing. It cannot move from its place. Even if one cries to it [for help], the idol cannot answer; It cannot save him from his distress.
- Isaiah 48:7They are created now [called into being by the prophetic word] and not long ago; And before today you have not heard of them, So that you will not say, ‘Oh yes! I knew them.’
- 1 Kings 18:26So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, hear and answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they had made.
- Psalms 115:8Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them.
- Jeremiah 2:27Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their backs to Me, And not their faces; But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise [O Lord] and save us.’
- Jeremiah 10:8But they are altogether irrational and stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion—their idol is [only] wood [it is ridiculous, empty and worthless]!
Commentaries on Isaiah 45:20
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Assemble yourselves, and come - This, like the passage in Isaiah 41:1 ff, is a solemn appeal to the worshippers of idols, to come and produce the evidences of their being endowed with omniscience, and with almighty power, and of their having claims to the homage of their worshippers. Ye that are escaped of the nations - This phrase has been very variously interpreted. Kimchi supposes that it means those who were distinguished among the nations, their…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-25Verses 20-25 The nations are exhorted to draw near to Jehovah. None besides is able to help; he is the Saviour, who can save without the assistance of any, but without whom none can save. If the heart is brought into the obedience of Christ, the knee will cheerfully obey his commands. To Christ men shall come from every nation for blessings; all that hate his cause shall be put to shame, and all believers shall rejoice in him as their Friend and Portion…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-25Salvation comes only from the Lord. He is the creator, the revealer, and the one who carries out his will in human history. He promised to start a new era of salvation and righteousness (see Isaiah 45:8). Every person will submit to God, either by choice or not (Isaiah 45:23–24).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. escaped of the nations--those of the nations who shall have escaped the slaughter inflicted by Cyrus. Now, at last, ye shall see the folly of "praying to a god that cannot save" (Is 45:16). Ultimately, those that shall be "left of all the nations which shall come against Jerusalem" are meant (Zec 14:16). They shall then all be converted to the Lord (Is 66:23, 24; Jr 3:17; Zec 8:20-23).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 45:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 45
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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