41:1 Listen to me in silence, coastlands Yahweh commands attention whenever He makes an appearance (see Zech 2:13). In Isa 11:11, the coastlands (or islands) represent the farthest flung regions where God’s people had spread.

let us draw near together for judgment Yahweh summons the nations to a courtroom scene where He is both the judge and the defendant. The trial determines who really is the true God—Yahweh or the idols of the nations.

41:2 Who has roused salvation from the east, summoned him to his foot, gives nations in his presence, and subjugates kings? Yahweh raised up Assyria (10:5–6) and Babylon (39:6) to be His agents of judgment. He also raised up Cyrus of Persia, whose rising empire will soon defeat Babylon and take over most of the ancient Near East.

gives nations in his presence Compare 2 Chr 36:23, where Cyrus credits Yahweh with putting him in power over the known world.

41:4 from the beginning Yahweh’s plan has always been in place.

I, Yahweh, am first A polarity emphasizing Yahweh’s sole right to be worshiped as God. The theme also appears in Isa 43:10–11; 48:12; and 44:6—where the context of idolatry is more explicit. The nt also uses this imagery (see Rev 22:13).

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41:5 the ends of the earth tremble The coastlands (or islands) and the ends of the earth are representative of all the nations that God has summoned.

41:7 they strengthen it with nails People work together in an ultimately futile effort, building an idol for protection.

41:8 Israel, my servant, Jacob The Servant—chosen by God—is an important figure in chs. 40–55. It emphasizes the special covenant relationship between Yahweh and His chosen people.

41:9 from the ends of the earth An allusion to the exodus story and Israel’s bondage in Egypt, figuratively referred to as “the ends of the earth” (see Exod 1–15).

41:10 I will strengthen you God Himself now offers comfort and reassurance, similar to that proclaimed in Isa 40:31.

the right hand of Symbolic of His power and authority.

41:11 shall be like nothing and shall become lost Compare Isa 40:23. They have nothing to fear from human power—it is nothing compared to divine power.

41:13 your right hand God is behind their power. Having God at your right hand assured victory (see note on v. 10).

41:14 your redeemer is the holy one of Israel The holy God they rejected now redeems them. See 1:4 and note.

Go’el Word Study

41:15 You shall thresh and crush the mountains Bringing low the lofty mountains and hills as promised in 2:14. The metaphor of the threshing sledge provides an assurance of the power of Yahweh over creation—He can use them as a tool (compare 10:5) to bring low any who might cause them to fear.

41:17 I, Yahweh, will answer them God brings judgment, but also shows compassion to those who seek Him.

41:18 I will make the wilderness like a pool of Chapter 35 illustrates the same motif of the renewal of creation—the flowering of the desert so the exiles can return across it (see 35:1, 6).

41:19 I will set the cypress, elm, and box tree together in the desert God’s creative power can be seen in His ability to bring fertility from sterility.

41:20 the holy one of Israel has created it Invoking Yahweh’s creative power with bara (see Gen 1:1 and note). His restoration of the wilderness to an Edenic state is proof of His power.

41:21 Bring your evidence Yahweh proved His power by freeing Israel from Egypt, and by bringing life to the desert (an allusion both to what was described in Isa 41:18–20 and to Israel in the wilderness in Num 20:11). Now He calls on the nations to bring their idols to provide evidence of their power (see note on Isa 41:1).

41:22 let them tell us what will happen Predictive prophecy is proof of real divine power. The criterion of declaring what is to come in the future is used again in 44:7 and 46:10.

the former things Refers to earlier prophecies and the ability to explain their fulfillment. The contrast between “first” and “last”—or “former things” and “latter things”—is prominent in chs. 40–48. The “former things” sometimes seem to refer to God’s earlier words of judgment in chs. 1–39, while the “latter things” are the new pronouncements in chs. 40–48 that emphasize consolation and restoration. Ultimately, the words illustrate that formerly, judgment would take place, but now salvation is coming.

Declare to us the things to come God can also make new prophecies about what will happen. Any gods wishing to compete with Yahweh must have the ability to declare both past and future.

41:23 do good or do evil The appeal is for the idols to do anything at all—good or bad—to prove they are real.

41:24 your work is something worthless The idols have no power; they can accomplish nothing.

whoever chooses you is an abomination A strong denunciation of any idolater. The Hebrew term here may refer to what is physically, ritually, or ethically abhorrent. In 2 Kgs 23:13, the word refers to the gods of the surrounding nations. Both the idol and the idolater are an abomination.

41:25 I stirred up one from the north Refers to Cyrus (see note on Isa 41:2). The references to north and east may indicate the two parts of his empire—Media was north of Persia. Jeremiah frequently described disaster coming from the north (see note on Jer 50:3).

He shall call on my name Cyrus typically acknowledged local deities, including Yahweh (see 2 Chr 36:23).

41:26 there was no one who declared Yahweh claims the credit for raising up Cyrus for His own purposes; He points out the failure of the idols of the nations to declare these events.

41:27 a herald of good tidings to Jerusalem The prophet was sent as the herald to declare the return to Zion. See Isa 40:9.

41:29 their works are nothing The futility of idolatry is emphasized through the repeated focus on their inability to do anything. Since none answered to even this challenge (see v. 1 and note), Yahweh ends the debate.