Isaiah 41:20
in Isaiah 41so that all may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
KJV
That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
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This verse in Isaiah 41
Commentary
8 notes on this verse809. Fourth, he sets out the fruit of the benefit: that they may see: that they may know that there is no God beside you, and that they may show forth your wonders (Sir 36:2).
This site's exposition
I will plant cedars in the wilderness
on Isaiah 41:19-20
The watered wilderness is planted with seven kinds of tree, where the desert had offered none. The purpose is stated, so that all may see and know, that the hand of the LORD has done this. The verse joins the hand of the LORD to the Holy One of Israel.
This site's exposition
so that all may see and know
The closing verb is bara, the word of Genesis 1:1, used only of the making by God. The desert counts as a new act of creation. Clarke records the proposal of Houbigant to read consider as wonder, and Aquinas names the fruit as knowing there is no God beside Him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 17 and following) The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v26
That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
And consider - The verb ישימו yasimu, without לב leb added, cannot signify to apply the heart, or to attend to a thing, as Houbigant has observed; he therefore reads ישמו yashshemu, they shall wonder.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
That they - The Jews, the people who shall be rescued from their long captivity, and restored again to their own land. So rich and unexpected would be the blessings - as if in a pathless desert the most beautiful and refreshing trees and fountains should suddenly spring up - that they would have the fullest demonstration that they came from God. Hath created it - That is, all this is to be traced to him. In the apocryphal book of Baruch there is an expression respecting the return from Babylon remarkably similar to that which is used here by Isaiah: ‘Even the woods and every sweet-smelling tree shall overshadow Israel by the commandment of God’ Isa 5:8.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְמַ֧עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| יִרְא֣וּ | yiru | they may see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְיֵדְע֗וּ | veyedeu | so they may know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| וְיָשִׂ֤ימוּ | veyasimu | so they may set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| וְיַשְׂכִּ֙ילוּ֙ | veyaskilu | so they may have insight | H7919 → | 62 times |
| יַחְדָּ֔ו | yachdav | all together | H3162 → | 141 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יַד־ | yad- | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עָ֣שְׂתָה | ʾasetah | it has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| זֹּ֑את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וּקְד֥וֹשׁ | ukedoosh | and [the] holy [one] of | H6918 → | 116 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בְּרָאָֽהּ׃ פ | beraah | he has created it | H1254 → | 55 times |
לְמַ֧עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
יִרְא֣וּthey may see
yiruH7200 →1300 times
וְיֵדְע֗וּso they may know
veyedeuH3045 →945 times
וְיָשִׂ֤ימוּso they may set
veyasimuH7760 →584 times
וְיַשְׂכִּ֙ילוּ֙so they may have insight
veyaskiluH7919 →62 times
יַחְדָּ֔וall together
yachdavH3162 →141 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
יַד־[the] hand of
yad-H3027 →1618 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עָ֣שְׂתָהit has done
ʾasetahH6213 →2628 times
זֹּ֑אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
וּקְד֥וֹשׁand [the] holy [one] of
ukedooshH6918 →116 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בְּרָאָֽהּ׃ פhe has created it
beraahH1254 →55 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
Exodus 9:16But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
it leads to
- Romans 9:17
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
- Proverbs 16:4
The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.
- Romans 9:17
Through
Isaiah 43:21The people I formed for Myself will declare My praise.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Hebrews 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
- Psalms 102:18
Let this be written for the generation to come, so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
- Luke 1:74–75
deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear,
- 1 Peter 2:9
Through
Psalms 109:27Let them know that this is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it.
it leads to
- Job 37:7
He seals up the hand of every man, so that all men may know His work.
- Job 37:7
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.