Isaiah 41:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, "He is right"? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.

NIV: Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know, or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’? No one told of this, no one foretold it, no one heard any words from you.

NASB: Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, 'He is right!'? There was no one at all who declared, There was no one at all who proclaimed, There was no one at all who heard your words.

CSB: Who told about this from the beginning, so that we might know, and from times past, so that we might say, ‘He is right’? No one announced it, no one told it, no one heard your words.

NLT: 'Who told you from the beginning that this would happen? Who predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No one said a word!

KJV: Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.

NKJV: Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And former times, that we may say, ‘ He is righteous’? Surely there is no one who shows, Surely there is no one who declares, Surely there is no one who hears your words.

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).