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“Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! Let the nations find renewed strength! Let them approach and then speak; let us come together for debate! Who stirs up this one from the east? Who officially commissions him for service? He hands nations over to him, and enables him to subdue kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, like windblown straw with his bow. 3He pursues them and passes by unharmed; he advances with great speed. 4Who acts and carries out decrees? Who summons the successive generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning, and at the very 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 41:25I have stirred up one out of the north and he advances, one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. He steps on rulers as if they were clay, like a potter treading the clay.
• Isaiah 45:13It is me – I stir him up and commission him; I will make all his ways level. He will rebuild my city; he will send my exiled people home, but not for a price or a bribe,” says the Lord who commands armies.
• Isaiah 46:11who summons an eagle from the east, from a distant land, one who carries out my plan. Yes, I have decreed, yes, I will bring it to pass; I have formulated a plan, yes, I will carry it out.
• Genesis 11:31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there.
• Genesis 12:1Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you.
• Genesis 17:1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the sovereign God. Walk before me and be blameless.
• Hebrews 11:8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.
• Isaiah 45:1This is what the Lord says to his chosen one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold in order to subdue nations before him, and disarm kings, to open doors before him, so gates remain unclosed:
• Genesis 14:14When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he mobilized his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders as far as Dan.
• Ezra 1:2“Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: “‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
• Hebrews 7:1Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him.
• Isaiah 41:15“Look, I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge, new and double-edged. You will thresh the mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like straw.
• 2 Samuel 22:43I grind them as fine as the dust of the ground; I crush them and stomp on them like clay in the streets.
• 2 Kings 13:7Jehoahaz had no army left except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Syria had destroyed his troops and trampled on them like dust.
• Isaiah 40:24Indeed, they are barely planted; yes, they are barely sown; yes, they barely take root in the earth, and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up, and the wind carries 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