Isaiah 44:25

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

23Sing aloud with joy, you heavens above us, because the Lord has done it! Shout as loudly as you can, places deep below the earth. You mountains, sing with joy, and you forests and trees as well! Be happy, because the Lord has redeemed his people. He has rescued the Israelites, Jacob's descendants, to show how great he is. 24The Lord is your Redeemer. He took care of you before you were born. He says, ‘I am the Lord. I made everything. I alone hung up the sky like a curtain. I made the whole earth by myself. I show that the false prophets speak useless messages. I show that those who use magic to say what will happen are fools. I cause the ideas of wise people to become useless. People think that their advice is foolish. 26But I do the things that my servants say will happen. I show that my prophets' messages are true. I say about Jerusalem, “People will live there again.” I say about the towns in Judah, “I will cause people to build them again, so that they are no longer heaps of stones.” 27I say to the deep sea, “Become dry!” and its streams become dry.

Isaiah 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 continue with your magic, if you want to. Say your magic words. You have always used that magic, since you were young. Perhaps your magic will help you. Perhaps you will frighten your enemies!
• 1 Kings 22:11Kenaanah's son Zedekiah had used iron to make sharp points like a bull's horns. He said, ‘This is what the Lord says: “With these sharp horns you will attack Syria's army. You will destroy them all.” ’
• 2 Chronicles 18:11All the other prophets were speaking the same message. They said, ‘Attack Ramoth Gilead. You will win the fight. The Lord will give the city to you, our king.’
• Jeremiah 27:9So do not listen to your prophets, or to your diviners. Do not listen to people who use dreams or magic or the spirits of dead people to tell you what will happen. Those people tell you that you will not have to serve the king of Babylon.
• Jeremiah 28:9But it is different if a prophet says that people will live safely in peace. We would only agree that the Lord has really sent him if his message becomes true.’
• Jeremiah 50:36They will attack its false prophets, and people will see that the prophets are fools. They will attack the soldiers of Babylonia, and those soldiers will be very afraid.
• Exodus 9:11All the Egyptians had boils, even the magicians. Because of the boils, the magicians could not stand in front of Moses.
• Exodus 2:19They answered, ‘An Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds. He even took water from the well and he gave it to our animals.’
• Exodus 4:7Then God said, ‘Put your hand back inside your robe again.’ So Moses did that. And when he took his hand out, it was well again, like the rest of his skin!
• Exodus 5:6On that day, Pharaoh gave a command to the masters of the slaves, and to the leaders of the work.
• Isaiah 19:11The royal officers in Zoan are fools! Pharaoh's wise leaders tell him to do stupid things! They should not boast to Pharaoh that they are wise. They should not say that they are descendants of wise kings from long ago.
• Isaiah 29:14So now I will surprise these people again. I will surprise them with great miracles! Wise people will not seem wise any more. Clever people will no longer seem to be clever.’
• 2 Samuel 15:31Someone told David that his advisor, Ahithophel, had now joined with Absalom and his men. So David prayed, ‘Lord, please cause Ahithophel to give them foolish advice.’
• 2 Samuel 16:23In those days, people thought that Ahithophel's words were as good as a message from God. So Absalom trusted Ahithophel as his advisor, as David had done too.
• 2 Samuel 17:23Ahithophel realized that Absalom had not agreed to his advice. So he got on his donkey and he went home to his own town. He told his family what he needed to tell them. Then he hanged himself. He died and his family buried him in his father's grave.
• Job 5:12He stops the ideas of clever people. They cannot do what they want to do.

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

• Sorcery

In the dictionaries

• Wise men
• Consider
• Fit
• Pleasure
• Surname
• Astrology
• Frustrate
• Isaiah
• Mark, the Gospel According to
• Philosophy

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