The Meaning of Isaiah 42:13 Explained

Isaiah 42:13

KJV: The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.

YLT: Jehovah as a mighty one goeth forth. As a man of war He stirreth up zeal, He crieth, yea, He shrieketh, Against His enemies He showeth Himself mighty.

Darby: Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man, he will stir up jealousy like a man of war: he will cry, yea, he will shout; he will shew himself mighty against his enemies.

ASV: Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man; he will stir up his zeal like a man of war: he will cry, yea, he will shout aloud; he will do mightily against his enemies.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The LORD  shall go forth  as a mighty man,  he shall stir up  jealousy  like a man  of war:  he shall cry,  yea, roar;  he shall prevail  against his enemies. 

What does Isaiah 42:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This verse gives the reason for the praise just called for. Isaiah gloried in the fact that Yahweh would one day arise as a mighty warrior to overcome His enemies. He did this when He moved Cyrus to allow the Israelites to return to their land. He did it more mightily when He sent Messiah to accomplish redemption. And He will do it most dramatically when Messiah comes back to the earth to defeat His enemies at Armageddon ( Revelation 14:14-20; Revelation 19:17-19).

Context Summary

Isaiah 42:1-13 - The Work Of The Lord's Servant
We cannot doubt the application of this passage to our Lord, Matthew 12:18-20. The unobtrusiveness of His life and work was clearly demonstrated in every hour of His sojourn among men. He silenced those whom He healed. He stole away from the multitudes for prayer. He stayed in Galilee till His brethren were angry at His reluctance to show Himself to the people. He did not "strive, nor cry."
How meek and lowly was our Lord! A "reed" is typical of a heart broken by unkindness or a sense of sin. There is no beauty in the russet plume. It will not even serve for the shepherd's pipe. The "smoking flax" cannot ignite, because hardly able to remain aglow. This is the symbol of one whose love is tardy and cold. But such our Lord does not ignore. He can use the commonest and most unlikely materials.
He is never discouraged and cannot fail; and since He cannot, neither shall the Church, nor shall we. His love and power are pledged to us. Let us sing to Him and of Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 42

1  The office of Christ, graced with meekness and constancy
5  God's promise unto him
10  An exhortation to praise God for his Gospel
13  God will manifest himself, and check idolatry
18  He reproves the people of incredulity

What do the individual words in Isaiah 42:13 mean?

Yahweh like a mighty man shall go forth like a man of war He shall stir up [His] zeal He shall cry out yes shout aloud against His enemies He shall prevail -
יְהוָה֙ כַּגִּבּ֣וֹר יֵצֵ֔א כְּאִ֥ישׁ מִלְחָמ֖וֹת יָעִ֣יר קִנְאָ֑ה יָרִ֙יעַ֙ אַף־ יַצְרִ֔יחַ עַל־ אֹיְבָ֖יו יִתְגַּבָּֽר ס

יְהוָה֙  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
כַּגִּבּ֣וֹר  like  a  mighty  man 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גִּבֹּור  
Sense: strong, mighty.
יֵצֵ֔א  shall  go  forth 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
כְּאִ֥ישׁ  like  a  man 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
מִלְחָמ֖וֹת  of  war 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
יָעִ֣יר  He  shall  stir  up 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עוּר 
Sense: to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite.
קִנְאָ֑ה  [His]  zeal 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: קִנְאָה  
Sense: ardour, zeal, jealousy.
יָרִ֙יעַ֙  He  shall  cry  out 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רוּעַ  
Sense: to shout, raise a sound, cry out, give a blast.
אַף־  yes 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אַף  
Sense: also, yea, though, so much the more adv.
יַצְרִ֔יחַ  shout  aloud 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: צָרַח  
Sense: to cry, roar, make a shrill or clear sound.
עַל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
אֹיְבָ֖יו  His  enemies 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֹיֵב  
Sense: (Qal) enemy.
יִתְגַּבָּֽר  He  shall  prevail 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּבַר  
Sense: to prevail, have strength, be strong, be powerful, be mighty, be great.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation