Section 104 of 17441:21–29Isaiah

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King James VersionIsaiah 41:21–29

Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.

Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.

Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.

I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.

The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.

Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Isaiah 41:21–29

The Idols Cannot Explain Past or Future

Tell us the former things

The idols are invited to do what gods claim to do: explain the past, announce the future, do anything, good or ill. They produce silence. Meanwhile the Holy One points to a raised agent from the north and the east, and to a herald of good news for Zion. History is not a fog in which every statue is equally wise.

This is a contest about who can speak a word that lands in public events. It is not a sneer at other ethnic groups, and it is not a modern science debate. Babylon's specialists cannot narrate what God is doing with the empire. Their work is wind and confusion because they cannot carry the weight of the future they advertise.

The detail of 'do good or do harm' matters: even a harmful act would at least prove agency. Nothing happens. Life with this courtroom is to stop asking our substitutes—markets, parties, techniques, even religious crafts—to tell a story only God can tell. Do not treat a system we have built as if it were the author of history.

How this should shape us

Stop asking markets, parties, or even ministries to narrate a future only God can tell. If a substitute cannot speak and act, do not treat it as the author of history.

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Explain Isaiah 41:21–29 in your own words. Name its place in Isaiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.

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King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Isaiah 41:21–29, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 41:21–29 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked

NET Bible Notes: Isaiah

Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.

Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 41:21–29 in the complete 205-page book PDF

Second Isaiah study-guide course

Supports: Babylonian-exile and Persian horizons, new exodus, Cyrus, servant figures, Daughter Zion, nations, suffering, and transition to plural servants.

Yale Bible Study, Second Isaiah course, Vindication and Deliverance guide on Isaiah 41:1-44:23; applied to Isaiah 41:21–29

Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception

Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.

Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Book 2A-2B, Background, Introductory Issues, and Themes; applied to Isaiah 41:21–29

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King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

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USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

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Exact location: Isaiah 41:21–29, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

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Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

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Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 41:21–29 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked

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NET Bible Notes: Isaiah

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF

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Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 41:21–29 in the complete 205-page book PDF

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Second Isaiah study-guide course

Robert R. Wilson and Stephen L. Cook

Yale Bible Study, 2019; current public course

Supports: Babylonian-exile and Persian horizons, new exodus, Cyrus, servant figures, Daughter Zion, nations, suffering, and transition to plural servants.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Second Isaiah course, Vindication and Deliverance guide on Isaiah 41:1-44:23; applied to Isaiah 41:21–29

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modern scholarly book course

Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception

Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024

Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Book 2A-2B, Background, Introductory Issues, and Themes; applied to Isaiah 41:21–29

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