Isaiah 41 · Verse 25

Isaiah 41:25

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.

Isaiah 41:25, King James Version

Isaiah 41:25 in other translations

BSB	I have raised up one from the north, and he has come— one from the east who calls on My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter who treads the clay.
WEB	“I have raised up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, one who calls on my name, and he shall come on rulers as on mortar, and as the potter treads clay.
ASV	I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.
YLT	I have stirred up one from the north, And he cometh, From the rising of the sun he calleth in My name, And he cometh in on prefects as on clay, And as a potter treadeth down mire.
DARBY	I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come, — from the rising of the sun, he who will call upon my name; and he shall come upon princes as on mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.
BBE	I have sent for one from the north, and from the dawn he has come; in my name he will get rulers together and go against them; they will be like dust, even as the wet earth is stamped on by the feet of the potter.
Webster	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 mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.

What does Isaiah 41:25 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

25. raised up--in purpose: not fulfilled till a hundred fifty years afterwards. north--In Is 41:2, "from the East"; both are true: see the note there. call ... my name--acknowledge Me as God, and attribute his success to Me; this he did in the proclamation (Ezr 1:2). This does not necessarily imply that Cyrus renounced idolatry, but hearing of Isaiah's prophecy given a hundred fifty years before, so fully realized in his own acts, he recognized God as the true God, but retained his idol (so Naaman, 2Ki 5:1-27; compare 2Ki 17:33, 41; Da 3:28; 4:1-3, 34-37). princes--the Babylonian satraps or governors of provinces. mortar--"mire"; He shall tread them under foot as dirt (Is 10:6).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 25 I have raised up one from the north - "That is, "says Kimchi, "the Messiah. The king of Assyria placed the ten tribes in Chalach and Chabar by the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 2Kgs 17:6, which lands lie northerly and easterly." He shall come upon princes "He shall trample on princes" - For יבא yabo, Le Clerc reads יבס yebes, from the Chaldee, who seems to read both words. "Forte legend. ויבס vaiyebes vel וירמס vaiyirmos: sequitur ס." "This should perhaps be read ויבס vaiyebes, or וירמס vaiyirmos: a ס samech follows." - Secker. See Nah 3:14.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 41:21-29

There needs no more to show the folly of sin, than to bring to notice the reasons given in defence of it. There is nothing in idols worthy of regard. They are less than nothing, and worse than nothing. Let the advocates of other doctrines than that of salvation through Christ, bring their arguments. Can they tell of a cure for human depravity? Jehovah has power which cannot be withstood; this he will make appear…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 41:21-29 →

Isaiah 41:25 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הַעִיר֤וֹתִיha.'i.Ro.tiI have stirred upH5782

מִצָּפוֹן֙mi.tza.fOnfrom [the] northH6828

וַיַּ֔אתvai.Yatand he has comeH857

מִמִּזְרַח\־mi.miz.rach-from [the] rising ofH4217

שֶׁ֖מֶשׁShe.mesh[the] sunH8121

יִקְרָ֣אyik.Ra'he will callH7121

בִשְׁמִ֑יvish.Mion name myH8034

וְיָבֹ֤אve.ya.Vo'so he may comeH935

סְגָנִים֙se.ga.NimofficialsH5461

כְּמוֹ\־ke.mov-likeH3644

חֹ֔מֶרCho.mermudH2563

וּכְמ֥וֹu.khe.Moand likeH3644

יוֹצֵ֖רyo.Tzera potterH3335

יִרְמָס\־yir.mos-[who] he tramplesH7429

טִֽיט\׃TitclayH2916

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 41:25

Isaiah 41:2
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.
2 Samuel 22:43
Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.
Isaiah 10:6
I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Isaiah 46:10-11
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
Zechariah 10:5
And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
Micah 7:10
Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
Isaiah 44:28-45:6
That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. …
Isaiah 45:13
I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts.
Jeremiah 50:3
For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
Jeremiah 51:27-29
Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers. Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
Isaiah 21:2
A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
Ezra 1:2-3
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

I have.Jehovah here, by the mouth of the prophet, predicts the victories of Cyrus over the Chaldeans and their allies, at least 150 years before the event, as one instance of his foreknowledge and invincible power. Media lay north of Babylon, and Persia eastward; and Cyrus commanded the forces of both these nations; and, by his wonderful success, he trampled down mighty monarchs as mortar, and as the potter treads the clay.
raised.
21:2; 44:28; 45:1-6,13; 46:10,11; Jer 51:27-29
shall he call.
Ezr 1:2,3
come upon.
2; 10:6; 2Sa 22:43; Mic 7:10; Zec 10:5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Isaiah 41:24
Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
Isaiah 41:25
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.
Isaiah 41:26
Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.

Read all of Isaiah 41

Isaiah 41:25 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Del norte desperté uno, y vendrá; del nacimiento del sol llamará en mi nombre: y hollará príncipes como lodo, y como pisa el barro el alfarero.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Je l’ai réveillé du nord, et il vient, – du lever du soleil, celui qui invoquera mon nom. Et il marchera sur les princes comme sur de la boue, et comme le potier foule l’argile.
German Elberfelder 1871	Ich habe ihn von Norden her erweckt, und er kam herbei-von Sonnenaufgang her den, der meinen Namen anruft. Und er tritt auf Fürsten wie auf Lehm, und wie ein Töpfer, welcher Ton zerknetet.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Suscitavi ab aquilone, et veniet ab ortu solis: vocabit nomen meum, et adducet magistratus quasi lutum, et velut plastes conculcans humum.