Isaiah 41:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He pursues them and passes on safely, by paths his feet have not trod.

NIV: He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before.

NASB: He pursues them, passing on in safety, By a way he had not been traversing with his feet.

CSB: He pursues them, going on safely, hardly touching the path with his feet.

NLT: He chases them away and goes on safely, though he is walking over unfamiliar ground.

KJV: He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.

NKJV: Who pursued them, and passed safely By the way that he had not gone with his feet?

Isaiah 41:1–20 begins with the Lord's call for the nations to come together for judgment. The statement will come in the form of a powerful force from the east, who attacks from the north (Isaiah 41:25), who will trample all the pagan kings. Though this will happen through the instrument of an earthly army, it will be the Lord's power making it happen. Nations will turn even further to idols for protection and find them useless. Israel will not be abandoned, however, and God will prove his power to them.

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).

Accessed 10/15/2026 4:26:33 PM