Isaiah 41:16
in Isaiah 41You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
KJV
Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
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This verse in Isaiah 41
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Thou shalt fan them - Keeping up the figure commenced in the previous verse. To fan here means to winnow, an operation which was performed by throwing the threshed grain up with a shovel into the air, so that the wind drove the chaff away. So all their enemies, and all the obstacles which were in their way should be scattered. And the whirlwind shall scatter them - The ancients believed that people might be swept away by a storm or whirlwind.
This site's exposition
Do not fear, O worm of Jacob
on Isaiah 41:14-16
Do not fear, O worm, a title of weakness set beside a strong one, Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah carries that title in twenty five of the thirty one verses that use it. Israel becomes a threshing sledge, a figure Gill takes from the farm.
This site's exposition
You will winnow them
Barnes describes winnowing, the threshed grain tossed into the air with a shovel so the wind carries away the chaff. The nations of verse 2 were chaff before the conqueror, and here they are chaff before Israel. The last line gives the glory to the Holy One.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 15-16) I have made you like a new threshing sledge, with sharp teeth. You will crush the mountains and reduce them to dust; you will make them like fine dust. You will scatter them to the wind, and a whirlwind will blow them away. Then you will rejoice in the Lord; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And as to their exaltation: and you shall exult: we will exult and rejoice in you (Song 1:3[4]).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them,....
When we rejoice over our enemies we must rejoice in the Lord, for to him alone we owe our liberties and victories. "Thou shalt also glory in the Holy One of Israel, in thy interest in him and relation to him, and what he has done for thee." And, if thus we make God our praise and glory, we become to him for a praise and a glory.
He will help them, for he is their Redeemer, who is wont to redeem them, who has undertaken to do it. Christ is the Redeemer, from him is our help found. He will help them, for he is the Holy One of Israel, worshipped among them in the beauty of holiness and engaged by promise to them.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תִּזְרֵם֙ | tizrem | you will winnow them | H2219 → | 39 times |
| וְר֣וּחַ | veruach | and a wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| תִּשָּׂאֵ֔ם | tisaem | it will carry away them | H5375 → | 656 times |
| וּסְעָרָ֖ה | usearah | and a tempest | H5591 → | 24 times |
| תָּפִ֣יץ | tafitz | it will scatter | H6327 → | 67 times |
| אוֹתָ֑ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְאַתָּה֙ | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| תָּגִ֣יל | tagil | you will be glad | H1523 → | 45 times |
| בַּֽיהוָ֔ה | bayahweh | in Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בִּקְד֥וֹשׁ | bikdoosh | in [the] holy [one] of | H6918 → | 116 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| תִּתְהַלָּֽל׃ פ | tithalal | you will boast | H1984 → | 165 times |
תִּזְרֵם֙you will winnow them
tizremH2219 →39 times
וְר֣וּחַand a wind
veruachH7307 →378 times
תִּשָּׂאֵ֔םit will carry away them
tisaemH5375 →656 times
וּסְעָרָ֖הand a tempest
usearahH5591 →24 times
תָּפִ֣יץit will scatter
tafitzH6327 →67 times
אוֹתָ֑ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
וְאַתָּה֙and you
veatahH859 →1094 times
תָּגִ֣ילyou will be glad
tagilH1523 →45 times
בַּֽיהוָ֔הin Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
בִּקְד֥וֹשׁin [the] holy [one] of
bikdooshH6918 →116 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
תִּתְהַלָּֽל׃ פyou will boast
tithalalH1984 →165 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
Habakkuk 3:18yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
it leads to
- Job 13:15
Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.
- Micah 7:7
But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
- Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
- Isaiah 61:10
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…
- Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
- Job 13:15
Through
Jeremiah 51:2I will send strangers to Babylon to winnow her and empty her land; for they will come against her from every side in her day of disaster.
it leads to
- Matthew 3:12
His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- Jeremiah 15:7
I will scatter them with a winnowing fork at the gates of the land. I will bereave and destroy My people who have not turned from their ways.
- Jeremiah 50:29
Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has…
- Matthew 3:12
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.