Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 44:25
25who destroys the omens of the false prophets and makes fools of diviners; who confounds the wise and makes their knowledge foolishness;
Isaiah 44:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
- New International Version (NIV)who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense,
- English Standard Version (ESV)who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, And drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, And makes their knowledge foolishness;
Context of Isaiah 44:25
23Rejoice, heavens, for the Lord has acted; shout, depths of the earth. Break out into singing, mountains, forest, and every tree in it. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and glorifies himself through Israel. 24This is what the Lord, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb, says: I am the Lord, who made everything; who stretched out the heavens by myself; who alone spread out the earth; who destroys the omens of the false prophets and makes fools of diviners; who confounds the wise and makes their knowledge foolishness; 26who confirms the message of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers; who says to Jerusalem, “She will be inhabited,” and to the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,” and I will restore her ruins; 27who says to the depths of the sea, “Be dry,” and I will dry up your rivers;
Read all of Isaiah 44Isaiah 44:25 word by word
מֵפֵר֙ אֹת֣וֹת בַּדִּ֔ים וְקֹסְמִ֖ים יְהוֹלֵ֑ל מֵשִׁ֧יב חֲכָמִ֛ים אָח֖וֹר וְדַעְתָּ֥ם יְשַׂכֵּֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- That frustratethפָּרַרpârar · to breakH6565
- the tokensאוֹת'ôth · sign: indicatorH226
- of the liarsבַּדbad · blusterH907
- and maketh divinersקָסַםqâsam · to divineH7080
- madהָלַלhâlal · to be foolishH1984
- that turnethשׁוּבshûb · to return: turn backH7725
- wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
- backwardאָחוֹר'âchôr 'âchôr · backH268
- and maketh their knowledgeדַּ֫עַתda‛ath · knowledgeH1847
- foolishסָכַלsâkal · be foolishH5528
Cross-references for Isaiah 44:25
- Isaiah 47:12So take your stand with your spells and your many sorceries, which you have wearied yourself with from your youth. Perhaps you will be able to succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!
- 1 Kings 22:11Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made iron horns and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You will gore the Arameans with these until they are finished off.’”
- 2 Chronicles 18:11And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “March up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”
- Jeremiah 27:9So you should not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’
- Jeremiah 28:9As for the prophet who prophesies peace — only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the Lord has truly sent.”
- Jeremiah 50:36A sword is against the diviners, and they will act foolishly. A sword is against her heroic warriors, and they will be terrified.
- Exodus 9:11The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.
- Exodus 2:19They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
- Exodus 4:7“Put your hand back inside your cloak,” he said. So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it had again become like the rest of his skin.
- Exodus 5:6That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers of the people as well as their foremen,
- Isaiah 19:11The princes of Zoan are complete fools; Pharaoh’s wisest advisers give stupid advice! How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a student of eastern kings”?
- Isaiah 29:14Therefore, I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise will vanish, and the perception of their perceptive will be hidden.
- 2 Samuel 15:31Then someone reported to David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” “Lord,” David pleaded, “please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
- 2 Samuel 16:23Now the advice Ahithophel gave in those days was like someone asking about a word from God — such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel’s advice.
- 2 Samuel 17:23When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He set his house in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.
- Job 5:12He frustrates the schemes of the crafty so that they achieve no success.
Commentaries on Isaiah 44:25
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25That frustrateth - Hebrew, Breaking:‘ that is, destroying, rendering vain. The idea is, that that which necromancers and diviners relied on as certain demonstration that what they predicted would be fulfilled, God makes vain and inefficacious. The event which they predicted did not follow, and all their alleged proofs that they were endowed with divine or miraculous power he rendered vain. The tokens - Hebrew, אתות 'othôth - Signs.‘ This word is usually…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-28Verses 21-28 Return unto me. It is the great concern of those who have backslidden from God, like the Jews of old, to hasten their return to him. The work of redemption wrought for us by Christ, encourages to hope for all blessings from him. Our transgressions and our sins are as a thick cloud between heaven and earth: sins separate between us and God; they threaten a storm of wrath. When God pardons sin, he blots out, he dispels this cloud, this thick…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25False prophets and diviners used forbidden methods to predict the future. Eventually, God would reveal them as liars who believed something that is not true (see Isaiah 3:2; 9:15; 47:13; Deuteronomy 18:10–11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 24-2824-28. Confirmation of His promises to the Church and Israel, by various instances of His omnipotence; among these the restoration of the Jews by Cyrus. alone--literally, "Who was with Me?" namely, when I did it; answering to "by Myself," in the parallel clause (compare similar phrases, Ho 8:4; Joh 5:30) [Maurer].Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 44:25
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 44
- 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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