Isaiah 46:11
in Isaiah 46I 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, and I will surely do it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it.
KJV
Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
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This verse in Isaiah 46
Commentary
13 notes on this verseFor he says "I am the one possessing knowledge of all, and whatever happens, I give notice of it beforehand." That which is announced, I execute … for what the holy God wills, who will thwart it? And who will avert his hand when it is raised?… We take the bird that is called from the east and from a far land to be the Babylonian, who scorched all the territory of the Jews, took Jerusalem and ruined the temple. They removed both ordinary flock and the leading birds among them and forced them into the region of the Persians.
This site's exposition
Remember this and be brave
on Isaiah 46:8-11
“Remember this and be brave” opens the chapter’s second argument, a trial of prediction. The LORD names “a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land”. The traditional identification is Cyrus, named at 44:28; “My purpose will stand” rests the claim on fulfilment.
This site's exposition
a bird of prey from the east
Readings of the bird of prey differ. Cyril of Alexandria takes it to be the Babylonian king who took Jerusalem, and Eusebius reads the man from a far land as Christ. Barnes notes the Hebrew word names the birds that came down on the sacrifice of Abram in Genesis 15:11.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Who other can this be than his Christ, who, it says, has been called from a distant land, that is, from the innermost part of Hades? All the things I have announced before him, I will bring into action through him.
(Verse 8 onwards) Remember this, and be established, and return, you transgressors, to the heart. Recall the former age, for I am God, and there is no other God, nor is there anyone like me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago the things that have not yet been done, saying: My purpose will stand, and I will accomplish all my desire.
"I call a bird of prey from the east." [Isaiah] either calls the Medes a "bird," who will destroy the Babylonians, or the Israelites, who, in the course of their return, destroyed the Arameans, the Greeks and the house of Gog.
All is easy for the God of the universe. Not only the beings endowed with reason but even those devoid of it submit to divine authority. In addition, by the term "bird" he has clearly shown the speed of Israel's return from exile.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he sets out the order of liberation: who call a bird from the east, Cyrus, called a bird because of the swiftness of his victory; or Christ, above: who has raised up the just one from the east? (Isa 41:2).
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And, if God give him a call, he will give him success. He is the man that shall execute God's counsel, though he comes from a far country and knows nothing of the matter. Note, Even those that know not, and mind not, God's revealed will, are made use of to fulfil the counsels of his secret will, which shall all be punctually accomplished in their season by what hand he pleases.
Calling a ravenous bird from the east,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Calling a ravenous bird from the east - There can be no doubt that Cyrus is intended here (see the notes at Isa 41:2, Isa 41:25). The east here means Persia. The word rendered ‘ravenous bird’ (עיט ‛ayiṭ) is rendered ‘fowl’ in Job 28:7; ‘bird’ or ‘birds’ in Jer 12:9; ‘fowls’ in Gen 15:11; Isa 18:6; and ‘ravenous birds’ in Eze 39:4. It does not occur elsewhere in the Bible.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
ravenous bird--Cyrus so called on account of the rapidity of his marches from the distant regions of Persia to pounce on his prey (see on Isa 41:2; The standard of Cyrus, too, was a golden eagle on a spear (see the heathen historian, XENOPHON, 7, where almost the same word is used, aetos, as here, ayit). executeth my counsel-- (Isa 44:28;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
Calling a ravenous bird from the east “Calling from the east the eagle” - A very proper emblem for Cyrus, as in other respects, so particularly because the ensign of Cyrus was a golden eagle, ΑΕΤΟΣ χρυσους, the very word עיט ayit, which the prophet uses here, expressed as near as may be in Greek letters. Xenoph. Cyrop. lib. 7 sub. init. Kimchi says his father understood this, not of Cyrus, but of the Messiah. From a far country “From a land far distant” - Two MSS. add the conjunction ו vau, ומארץ umeerets; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
[I] tell the end from the beginning The Egyptian exile and its redemption I announced in the Covenant between the Segments, before they came about.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
stout-hearted You who have strengthened your heart among the heathens (the nations [Parshandatha, K’li Paz]) and have clung to Me.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קֹרֵ֤א | kore' | [one who] calls | H7121 → | 733 times |
| מִמִּזְרָח֙ | mimizrach | from [the] east | H4217 → | 74 times |
| עַ֔יִט | ʾayit | a bird of prey | H5861 → | 8 times |
| מֵאֶ֥רֶץ | meeretz | from a land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מֶרְחָ֖ק | merchak | distance | H4801 → | 18 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| עֲצָתִ֑י | atzati | purpose my | H6098 → | 89 times |
| אַף־ | ʾaf- | also | H637 → | 134 times |
| דִּבַּ֙רְתִּי֙ | dibarti | I have spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אַף־ | ʾaf- | also | H637 → | 134 times |
| אֲבִיאֶ֔נָּה | ʾavienah | I will bring it | H935 → | 2568 times |
| יָצַ֖רְתִּי | yatzarti | I have planned | H3335 → | 62 times |
| אַף־ | ʾaf- | also | H637 → | 134 times |
| אֶעֱשֶֽׂנָּה׃ ס | ʾeesenah | I will accomplish it | H6213 → | 2628 times |
קֹרֵ֤א[one who] calls
kore'H7121 →733 times
מִמִּזְרָח֙from [the] east
mimizrachH4217 →74 times
עַ֔יִטa bird of prey
ʾayitH5861 →8 times
מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom a land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מֶרְחָ֖קdistance
merchakH4801 →18 times
אִ֣ישׁa man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
עֲצָתִ֑יpurpose my
atzatiH6098 →89 times
אַף־also
ʾaf-H637 →134 times
דִּבַּ֙רְתִּי֙I have spoken
dibartiH1696 →1141 times
אַף־also
ʾaf-H637 →134 times
אֲבִיאֶ֔נָּהI will bring it
ʾavienahH935 →2568 times
יָצַ֖רְתִּיI have planned
yatzartiH3335 →62 times
אַף־also
ʾaf-H637 →134 times
אֶעֱשֶֽׂנָּה׃ סI will accomplish it
ʾeesenahH6213 →2628 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
Numbers 23:19God 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?
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:29
Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Malachi 3:6
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
- Hebrews 6:18
Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- Titus 1:2
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
- 1 Samuel 15:29
Through
Ephesians 1:11In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,
it leads to
- Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- 1 Peter 1:4
and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,
- Romans 8:28
Through
Job 23:13But He is unchangeable, and who can oppose Him? He does what He desires.
it leads to
- Psalms 115:3
Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.
- Psalms 115:3
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 4:3.46:8-13; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 46:11; Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:31; 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; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 14:46.11 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.