Isaiah 41:2
in Isaiah 41Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Who hath raised up one from the east, whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow.
KJV
Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.
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This verse in Isaiah 41
Commentary
14 notes on this verseThe righteous man - The Chaldee and Vulgate seem to have read צדיק tsaddik. But Jerome, though his translation has justum, appears to have read צדק tsedek; for in his comment he expresses it by justum, sive justitiam. However, I think all interpreters understand it of a person. So the Septuagint in MS. Pachom. εκαλεσεν αυτον, “he hath called him;” but the other copies have αυτην, her. They are divided in ascertaining this person; some explain it of Abraham, others of Cyrus.
This site's exposition
Be silent before Me, O islands
on Isaiah 41:1-2
The trial of the gods opens with a summons, Be silent before Me, O islands. The first exhibit is a question, Who has aroused one from the east? The man has been identified as Abraham, who defeated the kings of Genesis 14, and as Cyrus, named at 44:28.
This site's exposition
Who has aroused one from the east
Wesley places the east in Persia, which lay due east of both Judah and Babylon. The Hebrew for righteousness may be read as a noun, and Maurer, cited by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, has salvation meeting the one called. Before him kings and nations turn to dust.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
For it was a work of righteousness not only for the Jews but also for the other nations to be called to the knowledge of God. So who is raising up this righteousness from the dawn of the light? Who is calling all to follow him? Who is the one offering this to all the peoples so as to shock the kings of the nations and to confound the foremost among them? God resists and tames those who attack this work, sweeping away the fighters with a word of righteousness, as they are conquered by the righteousness of God. It also serves to win over those who follow this word. He makes a rough way for the feet of the enemies of righteousness. He makes smooth a path for the feet of those who walk in peace.
Of this righteousness, the blessed Paul has said in his turn: "It is from God that we have been given wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption." When this righteousness arose and pervaded the world, kings were dismayed, tyrants were conquered, all kinds of torments were suppressed; …
(Chapter 41, verses 1 and following.) Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations change their strength: let them come near, and then let them speak: let us come together to judgment. Who raised up the Just One from the East, and called him to follow him? He will give nations before him, and he will rule over kings: he will make them like the dust with his sword, and like stubble driven by the wind to his bow. He will pursue them, and he will pass in peace, a path will not appear under his feet.
The wonder of God is not only found rightly in the magnificent work he did in the creation. For he has done nothing less than save the inhabitants of the earth, delivering the human race from death and destruction and the devil's snare. For he has condemned the sin that had become master through our sins, so that he has justified through faith those who are able to be with him. He became for us righteousness and redemption and sanctification before God the Father.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he tells of the benefits given to them: who has raised up the just one, where he tells of the multitude of benefits as to divine election; the just one, Abraham, from the east, namely, Chaldea (Gen 12); my foot has followed his steps …
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Who - Was it not my work alone? Raised - Into being and power, stirring up his spirit, and strengthening him to the work. The east - Persia was directly eastward, both from Judea and from Babylon.
, concerning the righteous man raised up from the east; and, since we cannot determine which is the true, we will make use of each as good. That which is to be proved is, (1.) That the Lord is God alone, the first and with the last (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Who raised up the righteous man from the east,....
He encourages his faithful ones to trust in him, with an assurance that he would take their part against their enemies, make them victorious over them, and bring about a happy change of their affairs,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Raised him up in righteousness. The Septuagint takes the Hebrew as a noun "righteousness." MAURER translates, "Who raised up him whom salvation (national and temporal, the gift of God's 'righteousness' to the good, Isa 32:17; compare Isa 45:8; 51:5) meets at his foot" (that is, wherever he goes).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Who raised up - This word (העיר hē‛yr) is usually applied to the act of arousing one from sleep Son 2:7; Son 3:5; Son 8:4; Zec 4:1; then to awake, arouse, or stir up to any enterprise. Here it means, that God had caused the man here referred to, to arouse for the overthrow of their enemies; it was by his agency that he had been led to form the plans which should result in their deliverance. This is the first argument which God urges to induce his people to put confidence in him, and to hope for deliverance; and the fact that he had raised up and qualified such a man for the work, he urges as a proof that he would certainly protect and guard his people. The righteous man from the east - Hebrew, צדק tsedeq - ‘righteousness.’ The Septuagint renders it literally, Δικαιοσὺνην Dikaiosunēn - ‘righteousness.’ The Vulgate renders it, ‘The just;’ the Syriac as the Septuagint. The word here evidently means, as in our translation, the just or righteous man. It is common in the Hebrew, as in other languages, to put the abstract for the concrete. In regard to the person here referred to, there have been three principal opinions, which it may be proper briefly to notice. 1. The first is, that which refers it to Abraham. This is the interpretation of the Chaldee Paraphrast, who renders it, ‘Who has publicly led from the east Abraham, the chosen of the just;’ and this interpretation has been adopted by Jarchi, Kimchi, Abarbanel, and by the Jewish writers generally. They say that it means that God had called Abraham from the east; that he conducted him to the land of Canaan, and enabled him to vanquish the people who resided there, and particularly that he vanquished the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, and delivered Lot from their hands Gen. 14; and that this is designed by God to show them that he who had thus raised up Abraham would raise up them also in the east. […]
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִ֤י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| הֵעִיר֙ | heir | has he stirred up | H5782 → | 80 times |
| מִמִּזְרָ֔ח | mimizrach | from [the] east | H4217 → | 74 times |
| צֶ֖דֶק | tzedek | righteousness | H6664 → | 119 times |
| יִקְרָאֵ֣הוּ | yikraehu | he calls him | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לְרַגְל֑וֹ | leraglo | to foot his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| יִתֵּ֨ן | yiten | he delivers up | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְפָנָ֤יו | lefanav | <to> before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| גּוֹיִם֙ | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| וּמְלָכִ֣ים | umelakhim | and kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יַ֔רְדְּ | yard | he subdues | H7287 → | 26 times |
| יִתֵּ֤ן | yiten | he makes [them] | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| כֶּֽעָפָר֙ | keafar | like <the> dust | H6083 → | 110 times |
| חַרְבּ֔וֹ | charbo | sword his | H2719 → | 413 times |
| כְּקַ֥שׁ | kekash | like chaff | H7179 → | 16 times |
| נִדָּ֖ף | nidaf | driven about | H5086 → | |
| קַשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ | kashto | bow his | H7198 → | 76 times |
מִ֤יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
הֵעִיר֙has he stirred up
heirH5782 →80 times
מִמִּזְרָ֔חfrom [the] east
mimizrachH4217 →74 times
צֶ֖דֶקrighteousness
tzedekH6664 →119 times
יִקְרָאֵ֣הוּhe calls him
yikraehuH7121 →733 times
לְרַגְל֑וֹto foot his
leragloH7272 →247 times
יִתֵּ֨ןhe delivers up
yitenH5414 →2011 times
לְפָנָ֤יו<to> before him
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
גּוֹיִם֙nations
goyimH1471 →561 times
וּמְלָכִ֣יםand kings
umelakhimH4428 →2525 times
יַ֔רְדְּhe subdues
yardH7287 →26 times
יִתֵּ֤ןhe makes [them]
yitenH5414 →2011 times
כֶּֽעָפָר֙like <the> dust
keafarH6083 →110 times
חַרְבּ֔וֹsword his
charboH2719 →413 times
כְּקַ֥שׁlike chaff
kekashH7179 →16 times
נִדָּ֖ףdriven about
nidafH5086 →
קַשְׁתּֽוֹ׃bow his
kashtoH7198 →76 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 46:11I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, and truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it,…
it leads to
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Isaiah 14:24–27
The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.
- Job 23:13
But He is unchangeable, and who can oppose Him? He does what He desires.
- Numbers 23:19
Through
Isaiah 45:1This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates…
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:28
who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:20–24
“You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.
- Isaiah 42:6
“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a…
- Isaiah 44:28
Through
2 Samuel 22:43I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.
it leads to
- Micah 7:10
Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Micah 7:10
Through
Isaiah 41:25I have raised up one from the north, and he has come—one from the east who calls on My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter who…
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:6
I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 10:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 3:5.41:2; Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:19; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:41.2 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.