Isaiah 44:1
in Isaiah 44But now listen, O Jacob My servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel, who I have chosen:
KJV
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 44
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Chapter 44, verse 1 and 2) Now listen, my servant Jacob, and Israel, whom I have chosen. Thus says the Lord, your maker and shaper from the womb, your helper. Do not fear, my servant Jacob, and you, whom I have chosen. LXX: But now hear, Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. I am the Lord your God, who created you and formed you from the womb; you will still have my help. Do not fear, my servant Jacob, and beloved Israel whom I have chosen.
This site's exposition
But now listen, O Jacob My servant
on Isaiah 44:1-3
But now listen, O Jacob My servant opens the chapter on the servant language of chapter 43. Do not be afraid comes a third time in two chapters, now with the name Jeshurun. Verse 3 joins water and Spirit, and I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And now hear, O Jacob. Here, third, he strengthens them from the worthlessness of the idols, lest perhaps they should believe that the divine promises could be impeded by them. And this is divided into two parts: in the first, he excludes fear; in the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
25 ), I am he that blotteth out thy transgression, which is the only thing that creates this distance; and when that is taken away the streams of mercy run again in their former channel. The pardon of sin is the inlet of all the other blessings of the covenant.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Yet now hear - This should be read in immediate connection with the previous chapter. ‘Notwithstanding you have sinned, yet now hear the gracious promise which is made in regard to your deliverance.’
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Yet--Though thou hast sinned, yet hear God's gracious promise as to thy deliverance. chosen-- (Isa 41:8).
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
WE ought not to overlook the first and immediate meaning of these words. There can be no doubt that we have here a promise made to God's ancient people, the Jews. Whatever their sins may have been, God has not forever cast them away. They have become like the dry and thirsty desert, but the day will yet dawn when God's sovereign love shall again visit them and His Spirit shall distil upon them until Israel shall be glorious among the nations and her children shall be multiplied and saved. O that the long-expected day would hasten!
WE ought not to overlook the first and immediate meaning of these words. There can be no doubt that we have here a promise made to God's ancient people, the Jews. Whatever their sins may have been, God has not forever cast them away. They have become like the dry and thirsty desert, but the day will yet dawn when God's sovereign love shall again visit them and His Spirit shall distil upon them until Israel shall be glorious among the nations and her children shall be multiplied and saved. O that the long-expected day would hasten! Break, hallowed morning, for earth's watchers are growing weary! The twelve tribes right longingly wait for the appearance of Messiah the Prince and we also who believe in Jesus, joyfully expect His advent and the gathering together of Israel. How great will be the day of the Lord's gracious visitation! "For if the casting away of them is the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?" If the fall of them is the riches of the world and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness? The vision tarries, but it will surely come! The Glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. Be it ours to rejoice in that ancient promise, "There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is My Covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." Leaving this interesting view of the text, we will meditate on it, for practical purposes of comfort to ourselves. Observe that the text begins with the word, "Yet." What an ominous word as to the past! What a cheering word as to the future! "Yet." "Yet." What black words are those which come before it? Surely all is not well. Look at the preceding verses and see.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֥ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| שְׁמַ֖ע | shema' | listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֣ב | yaako | O Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| עַבְדִּ֑י | ʾavdi | servant my | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | veyisrael | and Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בָּחַ֥רְתִּי | bacharti | [whom] I have chosen | H977 → | 171 times |
| בֽוֹ׃ | vo | <in> it |
וְעַתָּ֥הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
שְׁמַ֖עlisten
shema'H8085 →1159 times
יַעֲקֹ֣בO Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
עַבְדִּ֑יservant my
ʾavdiH5650 →799 times
וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖לand Israel
veyisraelH3478 →2507 times
בָּחַ֥רְתִּי[whom] I have chosen
bachartiH977 →171 times
בֽוֹ׃<in> it
vo
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 41:8“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend—
it leads to
- James 2:23
And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.
- Deuteronomy 14:2
for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the…
- 2 Chronicles 20:7
Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?
- Exodus 19:5–6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- John 15:14–15
You are My friends if you do what I command you.
- James 2:23
Through
Jeremiah 30:10As for you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:27–28
But you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of…
- Isaiah 43:5
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west.
- Jeremiah 29:14
I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD.…
- Jeremiah 46:27–28
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 564: “A Promise For Us And For Our Children” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.