Who has declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and before, that we may say, ‘He is right?’ Surely, there is no one who declares. Surely, there is no one who shows. Surely, there is no one who hears your words.
Parallel Translations
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Who has declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and before, that we may say, ‘He is right?’ Surely, there is no one who declares. Surely, there is no one who shows. Surely, there is no one who hears your words.
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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.
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Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say that he is right? Yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that announceth, yea, there is none that heareth your utterances.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Isaiah 41:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 41:22 “Let them announce and declare to us what will happen! Declare the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come.
- Isaiah 44:7 Who is like me? Who will call, and will declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? Let them declare the things that are coming, and that will happen.
- Isaiah 45:21 Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t I, Yahweh? There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior. There is no one besides me.
- Isaiah 43:9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified, or let them hear, and say, “That is true.”
- Habakkuk 2:18-20 “What value does the engraved image have, that its maker has engraved it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he who fashions its form trusts in it, to make mute idols? Woe to him who says to the wood, ‘Awake!’ or to the mute stone, ‘Arise!’ Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all within it. But Yahweh is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him!”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning, that none of the Gentile gods can work…
Meaning, that none of the Gentile gods can work any of these things.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 41:26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that…
Isa 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.
Ver. 26. Who hath declared?] Who, besides myself, ever did or could predict such a thing? If any other hath done it, we will do him right, called him a god.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Who hath declared from the beginning? which of all…
Who hath declared from the beginning? which of all your idols did or could foretell such things as this from the beginning of the world unto this day? They never yet did nor can foretell any such things, further than I think fit to reveal it to them.
Beforetime; either in time past, or before the things come to pass.
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That we may say, that we may be convinced and forced to acknowledge,
He is righteous; his cause now pleaded is just and good; he. is a God indeed as he pretends to be, he claims his Divinity by a good title.
Yea, there is none; Heb. surely there is none of your gods that hath done or can do this, and therefore their claim to the Deity is false and foolish.
There is none that heareth your words; none of your worshippers ever heard any such thing, either from you or of you; nor indeed doth any man hear your words, because you are dumb, and cannot speak.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may…
Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know?.... Who of the idols, or of their priests, that have declared things future before they came to pass, or ever predicted such an event as this before mentioned; which, if understood of Cyrus, was an hundred and fifty years before it came to pass; and if of Constantine, near a thousand years:
and before time, that we may say, he is righteous? that is, who hath declared things before the time of the accomplishment of them, and they have come to pass, as they have been declared? by which it may be known that they are gods, or the priests of such that are so, by their having prescience of future events, or the spirit of prophecy; and so it may be said of them, that they are just in their pretensions, and have a rightful claim to deity, or are true prophets; so the Targum,
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"that we may say it is true''
yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that declareth; that shows and declares things to come, or such as the true God shows and declares:
yea, there is none that heareth your words; none of your worshippers that ever heard you speak a word, who, when they have prayed to you, could never have an answer; and therefore you have no just claim to deity; or ever heard any of your prophets say such a thing should come to pass, and it did.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Who - Which of your idols could foretel such…
Who - Which of your idols could foretel such things as these from the beginning of the world unto this day? Before-time - Before the things come to pass. Righteous - His cause is good: he is a God indeed. Heareth - Because you are dumb and cannot speak.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 26. Your word] אמרתיכם imrntheychem; but, instead of…
Verse 26. Your word] אמרתיכם imrntheychem; but, instead of this, one of my most ancient MSS. has דבריכם dibreychem. The meaning is nearly the same: but in this reading this MS. is singular.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 41:26. Who hath declared from the beginning —…
Isa 41:26. Who hath declared from the beginning — Which of your idols could foretel such things as these from the beginning of the world unto this day? And beforetime — Before the things come to pass. That we may say, He is righteous — His cause is good; he is a God indeed. Yea, there is none that showeth — Hebrew, surely, there is none of your gods that hath done or can do this, and therefore their claim to divinity is false and foolish. There is none that heareth your words — Because you are dumb and cannot speak.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Who hath declared from the beginning - The meaning…
Who hath declared from the beginning - The meaning of this passage is, ‘there is no one among the soothsayers, and the worshippers of idols, who has predicted the birth, the character, and the conquests of Cyrus. There is among the pagan no recorded prediction on the subject, as there is among the Jews, that when he shall have come, it may be said that a prediction is accomplished.’
And before-time - Formerly; before the event occurred.
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That we may say - That it may be said; that there may be evidence, or reason for the affirmation.
He is righteous - The words ‘he is’ are not in the Hebrew ·The original is simply ‘righteous’ (צדיק tsaddı̂yq), just, that is, it is just, or true; the prediction is fulfilled. It does not refer to the character of God, but to the certainty of the fulfillment of the prediction.
There is none that showeth - There is no one among the worshippers of false gods, the soothsayers and necromancers, that has predicted these events.
None that heareth your words - There is no one that has heard such a prediction among you.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Just, or "the just one," (Haydock) that we may…
Just, or "the just one," (Haydock) that we may recognise Cyrus at once. --- Your words. He addresses the idols. You cannot dive into futurity. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Who--of the idolatrous soothsayers? When this prophecy shall be…
Who--of the idolatrous soothsayers? When this prophecy shall be fulfilled, all shall see that God foretold as to Cyrus, which none of the soothsayers have.
beforetime--before the event occurred.
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He is righteous--rather, "It is true"; it was a true prophecy, as the event shows. "He is righteous," in English Version, must be interpreted, The fulfilment of the idol's words proves that he is faithful.
showeth, &c.--rather, "there was none (of the soothsayers) that showed . . . declared--no one has heard your words" foretelling the event.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 26. Who hath declared from the beginning — The…
26. Who hath declared from the beginning — The questioned resumed as respects idols. Which of them ever gave a prediction at all? Which of them could even affirm as I, Jehovah, have affirmed of Cyrus?
He is righteous — A better translation, at least of the thought, is that of Cowles: “Who has declared [any thing] from the beginning, that we may know [it,] and from before the event, and we will say, Right. [It is true.] Verily there has been no such revealer, no such publisher; not one who has heard your words — that is, real predictions.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 26. He is righteous] He is in the right…
26. He is righteous] He is in the right (cf. Exo_9:27); or, simply, Right! (cf. ch. Isa_43:9), although the adj. is always used of persons, except in Deu_4:8 (of the divine ordinances).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (26) Who hath declared . . .—The words paint…
(26) Who hath declared . . .—The words paint once more the startling suddenness of the conquests of the Persian king. He was to come as a comet or a meteor. None of all the oracles in Assyria or Babylon, or in the far coasts to which the Phœnicians sent their ships of Tarshish, had anticipated this.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Who hath declared from the beginning? Which of the…
Who hath declared from the beginning? Which of the idol-gods has announced the coming of a conqueror? If any, we on Jehovah"s side are quite willing to acknowledge it, and to say, He is righteous; or rather, he is right. But, in fact, there is none of them that showeth, none that declareth no one has heard of any such announcement as delivered by any of them.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 41:26 Idols and false gods could not predict the…
41:26 Idols and false gods could not predict the future.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.