Isaiah 41:21
in Isaiah 41“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
KJV
Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
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This verse in Isaiah 41
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(Verse 21) Make your case, says the Lord: bring forth if you have anything to say, says the king Jacob. LXX: Your judgment is near, says the Lord God: they have come and drawn near your counsels, says the king of Jacob.
This site's exposition
Present your case
on Isaiah 41:21-23
The trial reaches its center with a challenge to the idols, Present your case, says the King of Jacob. The test set is prophecy, a demand for knowledge of time the idols cannot meet. The standard for deity is stated outright, so that we may know that you are gods.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
To the expression "your judgment draws near," Symmachus has given the following interpretation: "Present your case, the Lord has said; bring up your solid supports, the king of Jacob has said." Become judges, he says, between myself and the idols; produce your solid props or, …
The Medieval Church1 voice
810. Bring your cause near. Here he sets out the disputation against the idols themselves; and first, he sets out the disputation; second, the determination of the sentence: and I saw, and there was no one (Isa 41:28). Concerning the first, he does two things: …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. 2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
) and make your best of it; bring forth the strongest reasons you have to prove that your idols are gods, and worthy of your adoration." Note, There needs no more to show the absurdity of sin than to produce the reasons that are given in defence of it, for they carry with them their own confutation. The idols are here challenged to bring proofs of their knowledge and power.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Produce your cause, saith the Lord,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Silence (as usual) is proclaimed while the cause is in trying: " Keep silence before me, and judge nothing before the time" ; while the cause is in trying between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan it becomes all people silently to expect the issue, not to object against God's proceedings, but to be confident that he will carry the day.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Produce your cause - This address is made to the same persons who are referred to in Isa 41:1 - the worshippers of idols; and the prophet here returns to the subject with reference to a further argument on the comparative power of Yahweh and idols.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
A new challenge to the idolaters (see Isa 41:1, 7) to say, can their idols predict future events as Jehovah can (Isa 41:22-25, &c.)? your strong reasons--the reasons for idol-worship which you think especially strong.
Bring forth your strong reasons “Produce these your mighty powers” - “Let your idols come forward which you consider to be so very strong. “Hieron. in loc. I prefer this to all other interpretations of this place; and to Jerome’s own translation of it, which he adds immediately after, Afferte, si quid forte habetis. “Bring it forward, if haply ye have any thing.” The false gods are called upon to come forth and appear in person; and to give evident demonstration of their foreknowledge and power by foretelling future events, and exerting their power in doing good or evil.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קָרְב֥וּ | karevu | bring near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| רִֽיבְכֶ֖ם | rivkhem | case your | H7379 → | 61 times |
| יֹאמַ֣ר | yomar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַגִּ֙ישׁוּ֙ | hagishu | bring near | H5066 → | 125 times |
| עֲצֻמ֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔ם | atzumoteikhem | arguments your | H6110 → | |
| יֹאמַ֖ר | yomar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יַעֲקֹֽב׃ | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
קָרְב֥וּbring near
karevuH7126 →280 times
רִֽיבְכֶ֖םcase your
rivkhemH7379 →61 times
יֹאמַ֣רhe says
yomarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַגִּ֙ישׁוּ֙bring near
hagishuH5066 →125 times
עֲצֻמ֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔םarguments your
atzumoteikhemH6110 →
יֹאמַ֖רhe says
yomarH559 →5305 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יַעֲקֹֽב׃Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 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
Job 38:3Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
it leads to
- Job 40:7
“Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
- Exodus 12:11
This is how you are to eat it: You must be fully dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You are to eat in haste; it…
- Jeremiah 1:17
Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them.
- 1 Kings 18:46
And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
- 1 Peter 1:13
Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Job 40:7
Through
Job 31:37I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)—
it leads to
- Job 13:15
Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.
- Hebrews 4:15–16
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.
- Ephesians 3:12
In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.
- Job 13:15
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 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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:41.23 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.