EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Isaiah 41:25
25I have woken up a ruler, who is coming with his army from the north. He comes from a land in the east, where the sun rises, and he will use my name to call to me. He will walk over rulers of other nations as if they are mud. He will push them down with his feet, like a potter who prepares his clay.
Isaiah 41:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
- New International Version (NIV)“I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes— one from the rising sun who calls on my name. He treads on rulers as if they were mortar, as if he were a potter treading the clay.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“I have raised up one from the north, And he shall come; From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name; And he shall come against princes as though mortar, As the potter treads clay.
Context of Isaiah 41:25
23If they can tell us what will happen in future years, we will know that they really are gods. Tell them to do something, a good thing or a bad thing. That would really surprise us, or even frighten us! 24But no! Your idols are useless. There is nothing that they can do. Anybody who chooses to worship them has turned against God! I have woken up a ruler, who is coming with his army from the north. He comes from a land in the east, where the sun rises, and he will use my name to call to me. He will walk over rulers of other nations as if they are mud. He will push them down with his feet, like a potter who prepares his clay. 26Tell me, who decided in the beginning, that all these things must happen? Who told us about them before they happened? Then we could say, “He was right!” None of your idols said anything about it! Nobody heard them say a word! 27I, the Lord, was the first person to tell the good news to Zion. I sent someone to Jerusalem to say, “Look, they have arrived!”
Read all of Isaiah 41Isaiah 41:25 word by word
הַעִיר֤וֹתִי מִצָּפוֹן֙ וַיַּ֔את מִמִּזְרַח־שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ יִקְרָ֣א בִשְׁמִ֑י וְיָבֹ֤א סְגָנִים֙ כְּמוֹ־חֹ֔מֶר וּכְמ֥וֹ יוֹצֵ֖ר יִרְמָס־טִֽיט׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- I have raised upעוּר‛ûr · to rouseH5782
- from the northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
- and he shall comeאָתָה'âthâh 'âthâ' · to comeH857
- from the risingמִזְרָחmizrâch · eastH4217
- of the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
- shall he callקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
- upon my nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- and he shall comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- upon princesסָגָןsâgân · rulerH5461
- morterחֹ֫מֶרchômer · homerH2563
- and as the potterיָצַרyâtsar · to form: potterH3335
- treadethרָמַסrâmas · to trampleH7429
- clayטִיטţîyţ · mudH2916
Cross-references for Isaiah 41:25
- Isaiah 21:2The Lord showed me a vision of terrible things. ‘People are deceiving one another! People are destroying one another! Elam, go to attack Babylon! People from Media, attack all round the city! I will stop all the tears that Babylon's armies have caused.’
- Isaiah 44:28I say about King Cyrus, “He is my shepherd. He will do what I want him to do.” He will give a command about Jerusalem. He will say, “Build the city again!” He will say about the temple, “Build its foundation.” ’
- Isaiah 45:1The Lord says this to Cyrus, the king that he has chosen to serve him: ‘I hold your right hand. I give you power over other nations, to take away the weapons of their kings. I will open the gates of cities in front of you, and they will stay open.
- Isaiah 46:10From the beginning, I say what will happen at the end. Long ago, I spoke about future things that have not yet happened. I say this: “My purpose will not change. I will do everything that I want to do.”
- Jeremiah 51:27‘Call the nations to come and fight a battle against Babylonia. Wave a flag and make a noise with trumpets, so that these kingdoms prepare their armies to attack: Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Choose a captain to lead them into battle. Send an army of soldiers on horses to attack, like a large crowd of locusts.
- Ezra 1:2‘This is what Cyrus, the king of Persia says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me power over all the kingdoms of the earth. He has said that I must build a temple for him in Jerusalem, the city that is in Judah.
- Isaiah 41:2Tell me, who has woken up that king in the east? Who has chosen that king to serve him? He has given that king power over many nations, so that the kings of those nations must obey him. He uses that king's weapons to destroy other nations. He blows them away like dust or straw.
- Isaiah 10:6I send Assyria's army against a nation that does not serve God. I command them to attack the people with whom I am angry. I tell them to take that nation's valuable things for themselves. I tell them to walk all over them, as if they were walking on dirt in the streets.
- 2 Samuel 22:43I beat them until they became like dust. I walked over them, like dirt that lies on the streets.
- Micah 7:10‘Why does the Lord your God not help you?’ my enemies say to me. They will see what God does for me. Then they will be very ashamed. And I will see the bad things that happen to them. Soon other people will crush them and beat them. Then they will be like wet ground in the streets under people's feet.
- Zechariah 10:5Together they will be like brave soldiers who march through the mud in the streets of their enemies. The Lord is with them and they will fight their enemies. They will pull down the soldiers from their horses.
Commentaries on Isaiah 41:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25I have raised up one from the north - "That is, "says Kimchi, "the Messiah. The king of Assyria placed the ten tribes in Chalach and Chabar by the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 2 Kings 17:6, which lands lie northerly and easterly." He shall come upon princes "He shall trample on princes" - For יבא yabo, Le Clerc reads יבס yebes, from the Chaldee, who seems to read both words. "Forte legend. ויבס vaiyebes vel וירמס vaiyirmos : sequitur ס ."…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25I have raised up one - In the previous verses God had shown that the idols had no power of predicting future events. He stakes, so to speak, the question of his divinity on that point, and the whole controversy between him and them is to be decided by the inquiry whether they had the power of foretelling what would come to pass. He here urges his claims to divinity on this ground, that he had power to foretell future events. In illustration of this, he…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-29Verses 21-29 There needs no more to show the folly of sin, than to bring to notice the reasons given in defence of it. There is nothing in idols worthy of regard. They are less than nothing, and worse than nothing. Let the advocates of other doctrines than that of salvation through Christ, bring their arguments. Can they tell of a cure for human depravity? Jehovah has power which cannot be withstood; this he will make appear. But the certain knowledge of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25I have raised up on: The God who planned the exile through Babylon also planned Israel’s return from exile through Cyrus (see Isaiah 41:2; see also 13:17). Although Persia is to the east, travelers to Israel and Judah had to enter from the north due to rough terrain. He will march over rulers … treads the clay: Just as Babylon trampled Assyria, Persia would trample Babylon.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. raised up--in purpose: not fulfilled till a hundred fifty years afterwards. north--In Is 41:2, "from the East"; both are true: see the note there. call ... my name--acknowledge Me as God, and attribute his success to Me; this he did in the proclamation (Ezr 1:2). This does not necessarily imply that Cyrus renounced idolatry, but hearing of Isaiah's prophecy given a hundred fifty years before, so fully realized in his own acts, he recognized God as the…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 41:25
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 41
- 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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