Isaiah 41:23

Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Shew	הַגִּ֙ידוּ֙ ha.Gi.du	H5046	properly · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
come	הָאֹתִיּ֣וֹת ha.'o.ti.Yot	H857	to arrive · definite article + verb, qal active participle, feminine plural absolute
hereafter	לְאָח֔וֹר le.'a.Chor	H268	the hinder part · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
know	וְנֵ֣דְעָ֔ה ve.Ne.de.'Ah	H3045	to know (properly · conjunction + verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common plural
gods	אֱלֹהִ֖ים 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
good	תֵּיטִ֣יבוּ tei.Ti.vu	H3190	to be (causative) make well · verb, hiphil imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural
evil	וְתָרֵ֔עוּ ve.ta.Re.'u	H7489	properly · conjunction + verb, hiphil, 2nd person masculine plural
dismayed	וְנִשְׁתָּ֖עָה ve.nish.Ta.'ah	H8159	to gaze at or about (properly · conjunction + verb, hithpael infinitive construct, 1st person common plural
behold	וְנִרְאֶ֥ה ve.ne.re	H7200	to see · conjunction + verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common plural
together	יַחְדָּֽו yach.Dav	H3162	properly · adverb

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
John 13:19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
Jeremiah 10:5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot d…
Isaiah 44:7-8 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are c…
Isaiah 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee…
Isaiah 45:7-8 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Isaiah 46:7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one sha…
Isaiah 46:9-10 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 41:21–end

The Lord, by the prophet, here repeats the challenge to idolaters to make out the pretentions of their idols: "Produce your cause (Isa 41:21) and make your best of it; bring forth the strongest reasons you have to prove that your idols are gods, and worthy of your adoration." Note, There needs no more to show the absurdity of sin than to produce the reasons that are given in defence of it, for they carry with them their own confutation. I. The idols are here challenged to bring proofs of their knowledge and power. Let us see what they can inform us of, and what they can do. Understanding and active power are the accomplishments of a man. Whoever pretends to be a god must have these in perfec…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 41:23

do good . . . evil--give any proof at all of your power, either to reward your friends or punish your enemies (Psa 115:2-8). that we may be dismayed, and behold it together--MAURER translates, "That we (Jehovah and the idols) may look one another in the face (that is, encounter one another, Kg2 14:8, Kg2 14:11), and see" our respective powers by a trial. HORSLEY translates, "Then the moment we behold, we shall be dismayed." "We" thus, and in English Version, refers to Jehovah and His worshippers.

John Gill on Isaiah 41:23

Show the things that are to come hereafter,.... From henceforward to the consummation of all things: so the Targum, "show what shall come to the end;'' or at the end, the end of all things; or show wonderful things, which shall be hereafter; so Jarchi interprets the word; a word like this having the signification of signs and wonders: that we may know that ye are gods; as ye are said to be; that we may own and acknowledge you to be such, there being this clear proof of it, if it can be made out, foretelling things to come, both near and far off. The Targum is, "that we may know whether ye worship idols, in whom there is any profit;'' as if the words were spoken not to the idols, but to…

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The Church Fathers

(Verse 23) Announce what will happen in the future, and we will know that you are gods. Do good or do evil, if you can, and let us talk and see together. LXX: Also, tell us what is to come, and announce to us what will happen in the end: and we will know that you are gods. Do good and evil, and we will admire: and we will see at the same time where you are, and where your work is. Another indication is that idols are not gods, because they can neither do good nor do evil. Not that idols, or demons sitting on idols, have often not done evil; but rather, unless power has been granted to them by the Lord, they cannot do this. Finally, they implore in the Gospel to have power over a herd of pigs (Matthew VIII). And in Job we read, without the Lord's command (Diabolus) that a holy man was not even able to destroy animals and possessions. And it is not surprising that this is true about God, for the Apostle Paul also teaches that certain people belong to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme.
— Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Divination — Of false prophets (Deut. 18:10, 14; Micah 3:6, 7, 11), of necromancers (1 Sam. 28:8), of the Philistine priests and diviners (1 Sam. 6:2), of Balaam (Josh. 13:22). Three kinds of divination are…
Condescension Of God · Expostulates with backsliding Israel — Expostulates with backsliding Israel

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Isaiah 41:23

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 41:21–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 41:23

John Gill on Isaiah 41:23

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 41:23

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 41:21–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 41:23

John Gill on Isaiah 41:23

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Isaiah 41:23

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 41:21-23

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 41:21-29

Rashi on Isaiah 41:23