Isaiah 41:2

Isaiah 41:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.
• New International Version (NIV)“Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Who raised up one from the east? Who in righteousness called him to His feet? Who gave the nations before him, And made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, As driven stubble to his bow?

Context of Isaiah 41:2

1“Be silent and listen to me, you coastlands. Let the people gain new strength. Let them come near and speak. Let us come together for judgment. “Who has raised up from the east someone to whom the Lord gives victory with every step he takes? Nations are handed over to him. He defeats kings. With his sword he turns them into dust. With his bow he turns them into straw blown by the wind. 3He chases them, marching by safely on a path his feet have never traveled before. 4Who has accomplished this? Who has determined the course of history from the beginning? I, the Lord, was there first, and I will be there to the end. I am the one!”

Isaiah 41:2 word by word

מִ֤י הֵעִיר֙ מִמִּזְרָ֔ח צֶ֖דֶק יִקְרָאֵ֣הוּ לְרַגְל֑וֹ יִתֵּ֨ן לְפָנָ֤יו גּוֹיִם֙ וּמְלָכִ֣ים יַ֔רְדְּ יִתֵּ֤ן כֶּֽעָפָר֙ חַרְבּ֔וֹ כְּקַ֥שׁ נִדָּ֖ף קַשְׁתּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Who raised upעוּר‛ûr · to rouseH5782
• the righteousצֶ֫דֶקtsedeq · righteousnessH6664
• from the eastמִזְרָחmizrâch · eastH4217
• calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
• him to his footרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
• gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• ruleרָדָהrâdâh · to ruleH7287
• over kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• he gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: doH5414
• as the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
• to his swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• as drivenנָדַףnâdaph · to driveH5086
• stubbleקַשׁqash · stubbleH7179
• to his bowקֶ֫שֶׁתqesheth · bowH7198

Cross-references for Isaiah 41:2

• Isaiah 41:25“I have raised up someone from the north, and he has come. He will call on my name from the east. He will attack rulers as if they were mud, as if he were treading on clay like a potter.
• Isaiah 45:13I prepared Cyrus for my righteous purpose. I will make all his roads straight. He will build my city and let my exiles go free without any payment or any reward, says the Lord of Armies.
• Isaiah 46:11I will call a bird of prey from the east. I will call someone for my plan from a faraway land. I have spoken, and I will bring it about. I have planned it, and I will do it.
• Genesis 11:31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, wife of his son Abram. They set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came as far as Haran, they stayed there.
• Genesis 12:1The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your relatives, and your father’s home. Go to the land that I will show you.
• Genesis 17:1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said to Abram, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence with integrity.
• Hebrews 11:8Faith led Abraham to obey when God called him to go to a place that he would receive as an inheritance. Abraham left his own country without knowing where he was going.
• Isaiah 45:1This is what the Lord says about Cyrus, his anointed one: I have held him by his right hand so he could conquer the nations ahead of him, strip kings of their power, and open doors ahead of him so that the gates would not be shut.
• Genesis 14:14When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he armed his 318 trained men, born in his own household, and pursued the four kings all the way to Dan.
• Ezra 1:2This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the world. Then he ordered me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem (which is in Judah).
• Hebrews 7:1Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Most High God. He met Abraham and blessed him when Abraham was returning from defeating the kings.
• Isaiah 41:15“I am going to make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp, double-edged teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them to dust. You will turn the hills into straw.
• 2 Samuel 22:43I beat them into a powder as fine as the dust on the ground. I crushed them and stomped on them like the dirt on the streets.
• 2 Kings 13:7Jehoahaz had no army left except for 50 horses, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers because the king of Aram had destroyed the rest. He had made them like dust that people trample.
• Isaiah 40:24They have hardly been planted. They have hardly been sown. They have hardly taken root in the ground. Then he blows on them and they wither, and a windstorm sweeps them away like straw.

Commentaries on Isaiah 41:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The righteous man - The Chaldee and Vulgate seem to have read צדיק tsaddik . But Jerome, though his translation has justum, appears to have read צדק tsedek ; for in his comment he expresses it by justum, sive justitiam. However, I think all interpreters understand it of a person. So the Septuagint in MS. Pachom. , "he hath called him;" but the other copies have , her. They are divided in ascertaining this person; some explain it of Abraham, others of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Who raised up - This word (העיר hē‛yr ) is usually applied to the act of arousing one from sleep Zechariah 4:1; then to awake, arouse, or stir up to any enterprise. Here it means, that God had caused the man here referred to, to arouse for the overthrow of their enemies; it was by his agency that he had been led to form the plans which should result in their deliverance. This is the first argument which God urges to induce his people to put confidence in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2The king from the east was Cyrus, the Persian king who conquered Babylon in 539 BC. He allowed the Jews to return to their land and rebuild Jerusalem in 538 BC (Ezra 1:1–4). Isaiah’s prophecies about Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28–45:13; 48:14–15) encouraged Israel to see the Lord as the ruler over all human history, including the actions of great kings. He hands nations over to him: As victorious as the conquering Cyrus was, he was still subject to the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Who--else but God? The fact that God "raiseth up" Cyrus and qualifies him for becoming the conqueror of the nations and deliverer of God's people, is a strong argument why they should trust in Him. The future is here prophetically represented as present or past. the righteous man--Cyrus; as Is 44:28; 45:1-4, 13; 46:11, "from the East," prove. Called "righteous," not so much on account of his own equity [Herodotus, 3.89], as because he fulfilled God's…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 41:2

• Cyrus
• Persia
• Stubble

In the dictionaries

• Predestination
• Produce
• Apocalyptic Literature
• Gods
• Isaiah
• Philosophy
• Raise
• Isaiah, Book of

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