Berean Standard Bible
Isaiah 45:20
20Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
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 thus says the LORD, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other. 19I have not spoken in secret, from a place in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I say what is right. Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save. 21Speak up and present your case— yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but 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
- Comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- gather togetherקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- and draw nearנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: approachH5066
- and draw nearיָחְדָּוyachad · togetherH3162
- you fugitivesפָּלִיטpâlîyţ pâlêyţ pâlêţ · survivorH6412
- from the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- Ignorantלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- Ignorantיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- those who carryנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375
- ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
- idolsפֶּ֫סֶלpesel · idolH6459
- of woodעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
- and prayפָּלַלpâlal · to prayH6419
- toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
- a godאֵל'êl · godH410
- saveיָשַׁעyâsha‛ · to saveH3467
Cross-references for Isaiah 45:20
- Isaiah 41:5The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward.
- Isaiah 43:9All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
- Isaiah 4:2On that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors.
- Jeremiah 25:15This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.
- Jeremiah 50:28Listen to the fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, declaring in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance for His temple.
- Jeremiah 51:6Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.
- Ephesians 2:12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
- Revelation 18:3All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”
- Isaiah 42:17But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be turned back in utter shame.
- Isaiah 44:17From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
- Isaiah 46:7They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.
- Isaiah 48:7They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot claim, ‘I already knew them!’
- 1 Kings 18:26And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
- Psalms 115:8Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.
- Jeremiah 2:27say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Yet in the time of trouble, they say, ‘Rise up and save us!’
- Jeremiah 10:8But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
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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