Skip to content
mannafest.faith

Isaiah 44:7

in Isaiah 44

Who then is like Me? Let him say so! Let him declare his case before Me, since I established an ancient people. Let him foretell the things to come, and what is to take place.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them declare.

KJV

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 coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.

This verse in Isaiah 44

Commentary

12 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 420.

Who, he says, is like me? Let him call those things which are not as though they were, and explain the order of my creation, which I have balanced with reason, since I made man upon the earth. And not only do I desire this, but I also seek knowledge of the future. Therefore, you, Israel, of whom I am both king and redeemer, do not fear the images that you have learned are nothing on Mount Sinai. Is there perhaps another Creator, whom I do not know?

This site's exposition

since I established an ancient people

on Isaiah 44:7-8

The LORD opens a new round of the trial with “Who then is like Me”. “You are My witnesses” repeats the refrain of chapter 43. The verdict follows in “Is there any God but Me”, with “There is no other Rock” as its answer.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 6 and following) This is what the Lord, the king of Israel and his redeemer, the Lord of hosts, says: I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides me. Who is like me? Let him call and declare, and lay out the order for me, since I established the ancient people: what is coming and what will happen, let them declare to them. Do not be afraid, nor be troubled: from that time I have made you hear and announced it; you are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me, and a creator whom I do not know? All the idols of the nations are worthless, and the things they love do not profit them. They themselves are witnesses to their own worthlessness, for they do not see or understand, so that they may be put to shame. Who formed a god or cast an idol that is profitable for nothing? Look, all his companions shall be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere men. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. The blacksmith takes a tool and works it with the coals; he fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He will be hungry and will become weak, he will not drink water, and he will grow weary. The carpenter extends the rule (or the form), he shapes it on the plane, he forms it with angles, and rounds it off with a compass. And he makes an image of a man, like a handsome man dwelling in a house. He cuts down cedars, he takes an oak, and a tree that stood among the woods. He plants a pine, which the rain nourishes, and it becomes fuel for men. He takes from them, and warms himself; he kindles it, and bakes bread. But the rest of it he made into a god and worshipped; he made an idol and bowed down to it. He burned half of it in the fire and cooked meat on it; he roasted a stew and ate it, and then he was satisfied. He warmed himself and said, 'Ah! […]

A commentator

Cyril of Alexandria

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 4:2.44:6-7 · Written before 444.

proposed

Having made mention of the knowledge in Christ, recapping things for our benefit, he now turns his address to something else that is very necessary. For at the time when the godly prophet Isaiah composed the words about such things, offensive and irresistible temptations ruled over them. For what "God" and "honor" meant seemed to be up to the judgment of each individual. So God needs to provide them with some rousing encouragement and arguments tailored to their situation. He turns them away from polytheism and the sicknesses that troubled them and summons them through a change of mind to a knowledge of the truth and of his glory and brings them back to the awareness of his incomparable power.

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 1274.

proposed

And concerning this, he does three things. First, he sets out the divine act in announcing future things and the order of past things: let him call and declare, predestining, etc. All things were known to the Lord God, before they were created (Sir 23:29[20]).

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 1274.

proposed

The saints are elect through predestination: he chose us (Eph 1:4); formed through the infusion of grace: the Lord God formed man (Gen 2:7); righteous through love: the righteous love you (Song 1:3); servants through the duty of work: we are unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10).

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

He is the Lord, Jehovah, self-existent and self-sufficient; and he is the Lord of hosts, of all the hosts of heaven and earth, of angels and men. That he stands in relation to, and has a particular concern for, his church. He is the King of Israel and his Redeemer; therefore his Redeemer because his King; and those that take God for their King shall have him for their Redeemer.
5 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

To cure them of their inclination to idolatry, which was the sin that did most easily beset them and to reform them from which they were sent into Babylon. As the rod of God is of use to enforce the word, so the word of God is of use to explain the rod, that the voice of both together may be heard and answered.
And who as I shall call,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

And who, as I - This verse contains an argument to prove that he is God. In proof of this, he appeals to the fact that he alone can predict future events, and certainly declare the order, and the time in which they will come to pass (see the notes at Isa 41:21-23; Isa 44:9-10). Shall call - That is, call forth the event, or command that to happen which he wills - one of the highest possible exhibitions of power. See a similar use of the word call in Isa 46:2; Isa 48:

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

But MAURER translates, "Let him set it forth (Job 37:19) to me." since . . . ancient people--I have given the Jews predictions of the future ever since I appointed them as My people in ancient times; therefore they were qualified to be His witnesses (Isa 44:8).

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Let them show unto them “Let them declare unto us” - For למו lamo, unto them, the Chaldee reads לנו lanu, unto us The Septuagint read לכם lachem, unto you; which is preferable to the reading of the text. But למו lamo, and לנו lanu, are frequently mistaken one for the other, see Isa 10:29; Psa 80:7; Psa 64:6.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וּמִֽי־and who?

    umi-H4310 →423 times

  • כָמ֣וֹנִי[is] like me

    khamoniH3644 →143 times

  • יִקְרָ֗אlet him proclaim [it]

    yikra'H7121 →733 times

  • וְיַגִּידֶ֤הָand let him declare it

    veyagidehaH5046 →370 times

  • וְיַעְרְכֶ֙הָ֙and let him recount in order it

    veya'rekhehaH6186 →74 times

  • לִ֔יto me

    li

  • מִשּׂוּמִ֖יfrom when established I

    misumiH7760 →584 times

  • עַם־a people of

    ʾam-H5971 →1873 times

  • עוֹלָ֑םantiquity

    olamH5769 →438 times

  • וְאֹתִיּ֛וֹתand [the] coming [things]

    veotiyotH857 →21 times

  • וַאֲשֶׁ֥רand [the things] which

    vaasherH834 →5497 times

  • תָּבֹ֖אנָהthey will come

    tavonahH935 →2568 times

  • יַגִּ֥ידוּlet them declare

    yagiduH5046 →370 times

  • לָֽמוֹ׃to them

    lamo

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 45:21

    Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 43:9

      All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them, so that others may…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Isaiah 45:5

      I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,

    • Isaiah 43:11

      I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me.

    • Titus 2:13–14

      as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

    • Isaiah 44:7–8

      Who then is like Me? Let him say so! Let him declare his case before Me, since I established an ancient people. Let him foretell the things to come, and what is to take…

  • Through

    Isaiah 41:22

    “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 45:21

      Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Isaiah 46:10

      I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

  • Through

    Isaiah 41:26

    Who has declared this from the beginning, so that we may know, and from times past, so that we may say: ‘He was right’? No one announced it, no one foretold it, no one…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 41:22

      “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.

Where this verse is studied

About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
This page draws on 10 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 4:2.44:6-7; 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.