Isaiah 41:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.

NIV: "I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes— one from the rising sun who calls on my name. He treads on rulers as if they were mortar, as if he were a potter treading the clay.

NASB: 'I have put one from the north into motion, and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My name; And he will come upon rulers as upon mortar, As the potter treads on clay.'

CSB: "I have stirred up one from the north, and he has come, one from the east who invokes my name. He will march over rulers as if they were mud, like a potter who treads the clay.

NLT: 'But I have stirred up a leader who will approach from the north. From the east he will call on my name. I will give him victory over kings and princes. He will trample them as a potter treads on clay.

KJV: I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

NKJV: “I have raised up one from the north, And he shall come; From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name; And he shall come against princes as though mortar, As the potter treads clay.

Isaiah 41:21–29 describes the Lord's challenge to the nations. He poetically challenges these idols to prove themselves. Can they untangle past mysteries, change anything for good or bad, or predict the future? They cannot. They are "less than nothing": disgusting distractions and pointless inanimate objects. Believing in such things is delusion.

The Lord calls "the nations," meaning all countries outside of Israel, to gather and answer Him. The passage challenges their use of idols. God dismisses these manmade objects as useless, disgusting delusions. None of these imaginary gods can reveal the past, change the present, or predict the future. To punish these idols, the Lord will use a powerful earthly king from the east who attacks from the north to devastate the nations, even as they continue to build more idols. Through this, the Lord will be with Israel, strengthening them so they can scatter their enemies.

This passage describes events that would not take place for about 150 years. God will raise a powerful force from the east who attacks from the north—Cyrus the Great of Persia—to defeat Israel's enemies and return the people to Jerusalem. Earlier chapters included overlapping warnings against the pagan world, promises about God's power and rescue of Israel, and His use of foreign nations to accomplish His will. The following chapter previews the Messiah and warns Israel about the consequences of disobedience.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).