The Meaning of Isaiah 41:1 Explained

Isaiah 41:1

KJV: Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.

YLT: 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.'

Darby: Keep silence before me, islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us draw near together to judgment.

ASV: Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment.

Discover Isaiah 41:1

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Isaiah 41:1?

MEANING: What does Isaiah 41:1 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Isaiah 41:1 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Isaiah 41:1?

What is the context of Isaiah 41:1?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew [their] strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.

What does Isaiah 41:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The "coastlands" were the farthest reaches of the Gentile world: the ends of the earth then known. By summoning them to be silent, the Lord was appealing to all the Gentiles to listen to Him (cf. Isaiah 1:2). In chapter40 Isaiah spoke of God in the third person, but in this chapter, God Himself speaks. Note this oscillation in the chapters that follow. By heeding Him they would gain new strength, the same strength that was Israel"s privilege (cf. Isaiah 40:31). The Gentiles were to be fellow heirs with Israel (cf. Isaiah 19:24-25; Isaiah 27:13). But before that could happen, they had to meet with the Lord and arrive at a decision (cf. Job 38:3).

"The words are addressed to the whole of the heathen world, and first of all to the inhabitants of the western islands and coasts. This was the expression commonly employed in the Old Testament to designate the continent of Europe, the solid ground of which is so deeply cut, and so broken up, by seas and lakes, that it looks as if it were about to resolve itself into nothing but islands and peninsulas." ^[1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 41:1-16 - The Lord Upholdeth His Servant

The conception of this passage is superb. Jehovah is represented as summoning the earth to determine whether He or some idol of the heathen is the true God, Isaiah 41:7. Also see Isaiah 41:23. The test proposed is a simple one! Which can most precisely predict the future? Not, as in Elijah's case, is the appeal made to fire, but to the fitting of prophecy with historical fulfillment. See Isaiah 41:22-23.

While this great arbitration is in process, God turns with tender assurances to His own people. They were at this time captives in Babylon. They were poor and needy. They were surrounded by strong and crafty foes, against whom they were as powerless as a worm. But no height, however precipitous, or depth, however profound, could separate them from His love. Heart and flesh might fail, but He would strengthen; difficulties might appear insurmountable, but He would help. He does more. He takes His people, weak as worms, and makes them, if they but yield to Him, sharp threshing instruments having teeth before which the powers of evil become as chaff. O man, listen to God saying, I will make. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 41

¹ God expostulates with his people, about his mercies to the church
¹⁰ About his promises
²¹ And about the vanity of idols

What do the individual words in Isaiah 41:1 mean?

Keep silence before Me coastlands and the people let renew [their] strength let them come near then let them speak together for judgment let us come near

הַחֲרִ֤ישׁוּ אֵלַי֙ אִיִּ֔ים וּלְאֻמִּ֖ים יַחֲלִ֣יפוּ כֹ֑חַ יִגְּשׁוּ֙ אָ֣ז יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ יַחְדָּ֖ו לַמִּשְׁפָּ֥ט נִקְרָֽבָה

הַחֲרִ֤ישׁוּ	Keep silence
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural Root: חָרַשׁ Sense: to cut in, plough, engrave, devise.
אֵלַי֙	before Me
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular Root: אֶל Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
אִיִּ֔ים	coastlands
Parse: Noun, masculine plural Root: אִי Sense: coast, island, shore, region.
וּלְאֻמִּ֖ים	and the people
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural Root: לְאֹם Sense: a people, nation.
יַחֲלִ֣יפוּ	let renew
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural Root: חָלַף Sense: to pass on or away, pass through, pass by, go through, grow up, change, to go on from.
כֹ֑חַ	[their] strength
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: כֹּחַ Sense: strength, power, might.
יִגְּשׁוּ֙	let them come near
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural Root: נָגַשׁ Sense: to draw near, approach.
יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ	let them speak
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine plural Root: דָּבַר Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
יַחְדָּ֖ו	together
Parse: Adverb Root: יַחַד Sense: union, unitedness adv.
לַמִּשְׁפָּ֥ט	for judgment
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: מִשְׁפָּט Sense: judgment, justice, ordinance.
נִקְרָֽבָה	let us come near
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common plural Root: קָרַב Sense: to come near, approach, enter into, draw near.

What are the major concepts related to Isaiah 41:1?

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Similar Scriptures for Isaiah 41:1

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