1 Keep silent towards Me, O isles, And the peoples pass on `to' power, They come nigh, then they speak, `Together -- to judgment we draw near.'
Hush, all flesh, because of Jehovah, For He hath been roused up from His holy habitation!'
And Jehovah `is' in His holy temple, Be silent before Him, all the earth!
Beat your ploughshares to swords, And your pruning-hooks to javelins, Let the weak say, `I `am' mighty.' Haste, and come in, all ye nations round, And be gathered together, Thither cause to come down, O Jehovah, Thy mighty ones.
Each his neighbour they help, And to his brother he saith, `Be strong.' And strengthen doth an artizan the refiner, A smoother `with' a hammer, Him who is beating `on' an anvil, Saying, `For joining it `is' good,' And he strengtheneth it with nails, it is not moved!
And it hath come to pass, in that day, The Lord addeth a second time his power, To get the remnant of His people that is left, From Asshur, and from Egypt, And from Pathros, and from Cush, And from Elam, and from Shinar, And from Hamath, and from isles of the sea,
Hearken, O isles, unto me, And attend, O peoples, from afar, Jehovah from the womb hath called me, From the bowels of my mother He hath made mention of my name.
Hear, I pray you, that which Jehovah is saying: `Rise -- strive thou with the mountains, And cause thou the hills to hear thy voice.' Hear, O mountains, the strife of Jehovah, Ye strong ones -- foundations of earth! For a strife `is' to Jehovah, with His people, And with Israel He doth reason. O My people, what have I done to thee? And what -- have I wearied thee? Testify against Me.
O that I had known -- and I find Him, I come in unto His seat, I arrange before Him the cause, And my mouth fill `with' arguments. I know the words He doth answer me, And understand what He saith to me. In the abundance of power doth He strive with me? No! surely He putteth `it' in me. There the upright doth reason with Him, And I escape for ever from my judge.
Come ye near unto me, hear this, Not from the beginning in secret spake I, From the time of its being, there `am' I, And now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and His Spirit.
Bring near your cause, saith Jehovah, Bring nigh your mighty ones, saith the king of Jacob. They bring nigh, and declare to us that which doth happen, The first things -- what they `are' declare ye, And we set our heart, and know their latter end, Or the coming things cause us to hear.
Come near, ye nations, to hear, And ye peoples, give attention, Hear doth the earth and its fulness, The world, and all its productions.
Be friends, O nations, and be broken, And give ear, all ye far off ones of earth, Gird yourselves, and be broken, Gird yourselves, and be broken. Take counsel, and it is broken, Speak a word, and it doth not stand, Because of Emmanu-El!'
Gird, I pray thee, as a man, thy loins, I ask thee, and cause thou Me to know. Dost thou also make void My judgment? Dost thou condemn Me, That thou mayest be righteous? And an arm like God hast thou? And with a voice like Him dost thou thunder? Put on, I pray thee, excellency and loftiness, Yea, honour and beauty put on.
Gird, I pray thee, as a man, thy loins, And I ask thee, and cause thou Me to know.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 41
Commentary on Isaiah 41 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 41
This chapter, as the former, in intended both for the conviction of idolaters and for the consolation of all God's faithful worshippers; for the Spirit is sent, and ministers are employed by him, both to convince and to comfort. And however this might be primarily intended for the conviction of Babylonians, and the comfort of Israelites, or for the conviction of those in Israel that were addicted to idolatry, as multitudes were, and the comfort of those that kept their integrity, doubtless it was intended both for admonition and encouragement to us, admonition to keep ourselves from idols and encouragement to trust in God. Here,
So that the chapter may be summed up in those words of Elijah, "If Jehovah be God, then follow him; but, if Baal be God, then follow him;' and in the people's acknowledgment, upon the issue of the trial, "Jehovah he is the God, Jehovah he is the God.'
Isa 41:1-9
That particular instance of God's care for his people Israel in raising up Cyrus to be their deliverer is here insisted upon as a great proof both of his sovereignty above all idols and of his power to protect his people. Here is,
Isa 41:10-20
The scope of these verses is to silence the fears, and encourage the faith, of the servants of God in their distresses. Perhaps it is intended, in the first place, for the support of God's Israel, in captivity; but all that faithfully serve God through patience and comfort of this scripture may have hope. And it is addressed to Israel as a single person, that it might the more easily and readily be accommodated and applied by every Israelite indeed to himself. That is a word of caution, counsel, and comfort, which is so often repeated, Fear thou not; and again (v. 13), Fear not; and (v. 14), "Fear not, thou worm Jacob; fear not the threatenings of the enemy, doubt not the promise of thy God; fear not that thou shalt perish in thy affliction or that the promise of thy deliverance shall fail.' It is against the mind of God that his people should be a timorous people. For the suppressing of fear he assures them,
Isa 41:21-29
The Lord, by the prophet, here repeats the challenge to idolaters to make out the pretentions of their idols: "Produce your cause (v. 21) and make your best of it; bring forth the strongest reasons you have to prove that your idols are gods, and worthy of your adoration.' Note, There needs no more to show the absurdity of sin than to produce the reasons that are given in defence of it, for they carry with them their own confutation.