Isaiah 41:3
in Isaiah 41He pursues them, going on safely, hardly touching the path with his feet.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He pursueth them, and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet.
KJV
He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.
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This verse in Isaiah 41
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
He pursued them - When they were driven away. He followed on, and devoted them to discomfiture and ruin. And passed safely - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘In peace.’ That is, he followed them uninjured; they had no power to rally, he was not led into ambush, and he was safe as far as he chose to pursue them. Even by the way that he had not gone with his feet - By a way that he had not been accustomed to march; in an unusual journey; in a land of strangers.
This site's exposition
He pursues them, going on safely
on Isaiah 41:3-4
The conqueror pursues without loss, hardly touching the path with his feet. The question turns to his sender, Who has performed this, calling forth the generations from the beginning? The answer is the LORD naming Himself the first and the last, a claim the book repeats at 44:6 and 48:12.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
He will pursue them, namely the kings and princes of each nation, and he will pass by in peace, calling all to peace so that they may be reconciled to God.
(Chapter 41, verses 1 and following.) Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations change their strength: let them come near, and then let them speak: let us come together to judgment. Who raised up the Just One from the East, and called him to follow him? He will give nations before him, and he will rule over kings: he will make them like the dust with his sword, and like stubble driven by the wind to his bow. He will pursue them, and he will pass in peace, a path will not appear under his feet.
The Medieval Church2 voices
As to ease of pursuing, he shall pass in peace, namely, without labor, no path shall appear in his feet, as one who walks lightly, so that he leaves no footprints behind; or because labor, the sign of the way, was not left behind in …
813. Christ passed in the peace, of the flesh toward the spirit, which he had: you shall know that your tabernacle is in peace (Job 5:24); of man toward his neighbor, which he taught, below: how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He pursued them, and passed safely.....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He encourages his faithful ones to trust in him, with an assurance that he would take their part against their enemies, make them victorious over them, and bring about a happy change of their affairs,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Cyrus had not visited the regions of the Euphrates and westward until he visited them for conquest. So the gospel conquests penetrated regions where the name of God was unknown before.
And passed safely “He passeth in safety” - The preposition seems to have been omitted in the text by mistake; the Septuagint and Vulgate seem to have had it in their copies; εν ειρηνῃ, to pace, בשלום beshalom, “prosperously.” It is so in one of De Rossi’s MSS.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִרְדְּפֵ֖ם | yirdefem | he pursues them | H7291 → | 143 times |
| יַעֲב֣וֹר | yaavor | he passes on | H5674 → | 556 times |
| שָׁל֑וֹם | shalom | peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| אֹ֥רַח | ʾorach | a path | H734 → | 58 times |
| בְּרַגְלָ֖יו | beraglav | with feet his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָבֽוֹא׃ | yavo' | he comes | H935 → | 2568 times |
יִרְדְּפֵ֖םhe pursues them
yirdefemH7291 →143 times
יַעֲב֣וֹרhe passes on
yaavorH5674 →556 times
שָׁל֑וֹםpeace
shalomH7965 →236 times
אֹ֥רַחa path
ʾorachH734 →58 times
בְּרַגְלָ֖יוwith feet his
beraglavH7272 →247 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָבֽוֹא׃he comes
yavo'H935 →2568 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
Isaiah 57:2Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest, lying down in death.
it leads to
- Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors,…
- 2 Corinthians 5:1
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
- Job 3:17
There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary find rest.
- Luke 2:29
“Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.
- Ecclesiastes 12:7
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
- Revelation 14:13
Through
Job 5:24You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.
it leads to
- Psalms 121:7–8
The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul.
- Psalms 91:10
no evil will befall you, no plague will approach your tent.
- Job 8:6
if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate.
- Psalms 121:7–8
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; 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.