I call a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yes, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have planned. I will also do it.
Parallel Translations
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I call a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yes, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have planned. I will also do it.
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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.
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Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass, I have purposed, I will also do it.
Cross-references (22)
Passages linked to Isaiah 46:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?
- Isaiah 14:24-27 Yahweh of Armies has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so shall it happen; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and tread him under foot on my mountains. Then his yoke will leave them, and his burden leave their shoulders. This is the plan that is determined for the whole earth. This is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For Yahweh of Armies has planned, and who can stop it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”
- Job 23:13 But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? What his soul desires, even that he does.
- Isaiah 41:2 Who has raised up one from the east? Who called him to his foot in righteousness? He hands over nations to him and makes him rule over kings. He gives them like the dust to his sword, like the driven stubble to his bow.
- Ephesians 1:11 We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will,
- Acts 5:39 But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God!”
- Ezra 1:2 “Cyrus king of Persia says, ‘Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
- Psalms 119:24 Indeed your statutes are my delight, and my counselors.
- Isaiah 38:15 What will I say? He has both spoken to me, and himself has done it. I will walk carefully all my years because of the anguish of my soul.
- Isaiah 48:14-15 “Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? He whom Yahweh loves will do what he likes to Babylon, and his arm will be against the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken. Yes, I have called him. I have brought him and he shall make his way prosperous.
- Psalms 76:10 Surely the wrath of man praises you. The survivors of your wrath are restrained.
- Isaiah 13:2-4 Set up a banner on the bare mountain! Lift up your voice to them! Wave your hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my mighty men for my anger, even my proudly exulting ones. The noise of a multitude is in the mountains, as of a great people; the noise of an uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Yahweh of Armies is mustering the army for the battle.
- Isaiah 41:25 “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.
- Isaiah 44:28–45:6 Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure,’ even saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built;’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’ ” Yahweh says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and strip kings of their armor; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut: “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth. I will break the doors of bronze in pieces and cut apart the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, who call you by your name, even the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name. I have given you a title, though you have not known me. I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me, that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is no one besides me. I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.
- Isaiah 45:13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Jeremiah 50:45 Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they will drag them away, even the little ones of the flock. Surely he will make their habitation desolate over them.
- Ephesians 3:11 according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Jeremiah 50:29 “Call together the archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp against her all around. Let none of it escape. Pay her back according to her work. According to all that she has done, do to her; for she has been proud against Yahweh, against the Holy One of Israel.
- Jeremiah 51:20-29 “You are my battle ax and weapons of war. With you I will break the nations into pieces. With you I will destroy kingdoms. With you I will break in pieces the horse and his rider. With you I will break in pieces the chariot and him who rides therein. With you I will break in pieces man and woman. With you I will break in pieces the old man and the youth. With you I will break in pieces the young man and the virgin. With you I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock. With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke. With you I will break in pieces governors and deputies. “I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight,” says Yahweh. “Behold, I am against you, destroying mountain,” says Yahweh, “which destroys all the earth. I will stretch out my hand on you, roll you down from the rocks, and will make you a burned mountain. They won’t take a cornerstone from you, nor a stone for foundations; but you will be desolate forever,” says Yahweh. “Set 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 Ashkenaz! Appoint a marshal against her! Cause the horses to come up as the rough canker worm! Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, its governors, and all its deputies, and all the land of their dominion! The land trembles and is in pain; for the purposes of Yahweh against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
- Ezekiel 39:4 You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you, and all your hordes, and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the animals of the field to be devoured.
- Acts 4:28 to do whatever your hand and your council foreordained to happen.
- Isaiah 21:7-9 When he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of donkeys, a troop of camels, he shall listen diligently with great attentiveness.” He cried like a lion: “Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and every night I stay at my post. Behold, here comes a troop of men, horsemen in pairs.” He answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the engraved images of her gods are broken to the ground.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, Cyrus, which shall come as swift as…
That is, Cyrus, which shall come as swift as a bride, and fight against Babylon.
Him by whom I have appointed to execute that which I have determined.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 46:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east,…
Isa 46:11 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.
Ver. 11. Calling a ravenous bird,] i.e., Cyrus, who was ‘hawk-nosed,’ and came swiftly to seize upon Babylon like a falcon, or some such ravenous bird. So Nebuchadnezzar is called an "eagle"; {Jer 48:40} Xenophone testifieth that Cyrus had in his standard a golden spread eagle, as had after him the Persian kings, and likewise the Romans. See Mat 24:28. {See Trapp on "Mat 24:28"}
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{a} Cyropaed., lib. vii.
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 Calling a ravenous bird; Cyrus, called a bird for…
Calling a ravenous bird; Cyrus, called a bird for his swiftness and great expedition, and ravenous for his fierceness and victoriousness over his enemies.
From the east; from Persia, as Isa 41:2.
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That executeth my counsel, concerning the deliverance of my people, and the destruction of their cruel oppressors, the Babylonians.
From a far country; from Persia, which was far from Babylon, but much farther from Judea.
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 Calling a ravenous bird from the east,.... Or "a…
Calling a ravenous bird from the east,.... Or "a flying fowl", or "swift winged bird" (u); for the word used does not so much denote rapaciousness as swiftness; which well agrees with Cyrus, who is here meant, and not Abraham, as Jarchi, nor Nebuchadnezzar, as others; and who was always swift in all his expeditions, and always recommended celerity and dispatch of business to his soldiers and others, as Xenophon (w) often observes; and very remarkable is that speech of Tigranes to him, in which he tells him (x), that he so far exceeded the king of Armenia in swiftness, that he came upon him with a great army, from a far country, before he could get his army together, which was just by him. And very observable are the words of Cyrus himself, who was desirous of being a thorough horseman, that he might seem to be , "a winged" or "flying man" (y) So the Targum here renders it, a swift bird. Aben Ezra, who interprets it of Cyrus, says he is so called, as if he flew to do the will of God; and Kimchi observes of Cyrus, that he has this name because he came swiftly, and in haste, as a bird that flies: and it is no unusual thing for a mighty monarch, or a general, marching with his army, to be compared to a flying bird, particularly an eagle, Jer 48:40 and may be the bird intended here, which well suits with Cyrus, who had, as Plutarch (z) reports, an aquiline nose; hence men that have such noses, among the Persians, are highly esteemed: and Xenophon (a) says, that the standard of Cyrus was a golden eagle upon the top of a high spear, and which is retained by the kings of Persia. Cyrus is said to be called from the east, because, as Kimchi observes, his country lay to the east of Babylon:
the man that executeth my counsel from afar country; as Persia was from Babylon, Assyria and other provinces lying between; but though he lived in a far country, and knew nothing of the affairs of the people of God in Babylon, or what work he was to do, yet God called him, and brought him to do his will, which he was ignorant of: so God sometimes puts into the hearts of men to fulfil his will, which they are strangers to, Rev 17:17. It is in the Hebrew text, "the man of my counsel" (b); not with whom the Lord consulted, for none are of his counsel in this sense; but whom in his counsels, decrees, and purposes, he appointed to such service, and whom he made use of as an instrument to do his pleasure; see Isa 44:8.
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yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass: I have purposed, I will also do it; the counsel of the Lord, concerning the deliverance of his people from Babylon, by the hand of Cyrus; this he had purposed in his own breast, had spoken of in prophecy, and would certainly perform. R. Joseph Kimchi interprets this verse of the Messiah, and so does Jerom, of whom, no doubt, Cyrus was a type; and what is here said agrees with him: he may be compared to a flying bird for his swiftness in coming at the appointed time; he came from the east, as the rising sun of righteousness; he was the man of God's counsel in the highest sense, and came, being called, to execute it; the work of redemption was according to the eternal purpose of God, and spoke of by all the holy prophets, and now accomplished; and his righteousness and salvation are made mention of in the following verses.
(u) "avem, a velocitate", Munster; so Vatablus; ab "in volando celeriter et cum impetu", Forerius; so Ben Melech says, Cyrus is surnamed a fowl, because of his great swiftness and haste to come to Babylon; though he observes that some say, that a ravenous fowl is called the singular may be put for the plural; so Cocceius renders it, "volucres", birds, and may design the whole army of Cyrus. (w) Cyropaedia, l. 1. c. 17. and l. 3. c. 6. and l. 6. c. 17. (x) Cyropaedia, l. 3. c. 2. (y) Ib. l. 4. c. 17. (z) In Apothegm. (a) Cyropaedia, l. 7. c. 1. (b) "virum mei consilii", Munster, Pagninus, Montanus; so according to the Keri: but the Cetib is , "the man of his counsel".
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 A bird - Cyrus, called a bird for his…
A bird - Cyrus, called a bird for his swiftness, and ravenous for his fierceness, and victoriousness over his enemies.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. Calling a ravenous bird from the east…
Verse 11. Calling a ravenous bird from the east - "Calling from the east the eagle"] A very proper emblem for Cyrus, as in other respects, so particularly because the ensign of Cyrus was a golden eagle, ΑΕΤΟΣ χρυσους, the very word עיט ayit, which the prophet uses here, expressed as near as may be in Greek letters. XENOPH. Cyrop. lib. vii. sub. init. Kimchi says his father understood this, not of Cyrus, but of the Messiah.
From a far country - "From a land far distant"] Two MSS. add the conjunction ו vau, ומארץ umeerets; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Calling a ravenous bird from the east - There…
Calling a ravenous bird from the east - There can be no doubt that Cyrus is intended here (see the notes at Isa 41:2, Isa 41:25). The east here means Persia. The word rendered ‘ravenous bird’ (עיט ‛ayiṭ) is rendered ‘fowl’ in Job 28:7; ‘bird’ or ‘birds’ in Jer 12:9; ‘fowls’ in Gen 15:11; Isa 18:6; and ‘ravenous birds’ in Eze 39:4. It does not occur elsewhere in the Bible. It is used here as an emblem of a warlike king, and the emblem may either denote the rapidity of his movements - moving with the flight of an eagle; or it may denote the devastation which he would spread - an emblem in either sense especially applicable to Cyrus. It is not uncommon in the Bible to compare a warlike prince to an eagle Jer 49:22; Eze 17:3; and the idea here is, probably, that Cyrus would come with great power and velocity upon nations, like the king of birds, and would pounce suddenly and unexpectedly upon his prey. Perhaps also there may be here allusion to the standard or banner of Cyrus. Xenophon (Cyrop. vii.) says that it was a golden eagle affixed to a long spear; and it is well remarked by Lowth, that Xenophon has used the very word which the prophet uses here, as near as could be, expressing it in Greek letters. The word of the prophet is עיט ‛ayiṭ; the Greek word used by Xenophon is ἀετὸς aetos. The Chaldee has, however, given a different rendering to this passage: ‘I, who say that I will gather my captivity from the east, and will lead publicly like a swift bird from a distant land the sons of Abraham, my friend.’
The man that executeth my counsel - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘Of my counsel.’ It may either mean the man whom he had designated by his counsel; or it may mean the man who should execute his purpose.
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Yea, I have spoken - He spake it by the prophets; and the idea is, that all that he had spoken should be certainly accomplished.
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 Bird; Cyrus, whose rapid conquests are thus denoted. (Calmet)…
Bird; Cyrus, whose rapid conquests are thus denoted. (Calmet) --- He chose a golden eagle, with wings expanded, for his standard. (Xenophon vii.) --- Christ came from heaven to redeem the world, Psalm xviii. 6., and Malachias iv. 2. (Calmet) --- He was the orient, adored by the eastern sages, to whom the prophet refers. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
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 ravenous bird--Cyrus so called on account of the rapidity…
ravenous bird--Cyrus so called on account of the rapidity of his marches from the distant regions of Persia to pounce on his prey (see on Isa 41:2; Isa 41:25; Jer 49:22; Eze 17:3). The standard of Cyrus, too, was a golden eagle on a spear (see the heathen historian, XENOPHON, 7, where almost the same word is used, aetos, as here, ayit).
executeth my counsel-- (Isa 44:28; Isa 45:13). Babylon represents, mystically, the apostate faction: the destruction of its idols symbolizes the future general extirpation of all idolatry and unbelief.
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purposed . . . also do it-- (Isa 43:13).
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 11. Calling… from the east — Literally, from the…
11. Calling… from the east — Literally, from the sun rising.
A ravenous bird — Cyrus was rapid in movement and execution; quick, keen sighted, strong. He is said to have taken for his ensign a golden eagle standing with outstretched wings. XENOPHON, Cyrop., Isa_7:1.
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 11. The supreme illustration of the foreknowledge and power…
11. The supreme illustration of the foreknowledge and power of Jehovah is the raising up of Cyrus. Cyrus is compared to a ravenous bird on account of the celerity of his movements (ch. Isa_41:3), just as Nebuchadnezzar had been likened to an eagle (Jer_49:22; Eze_17:3). There can hardly be an allusion to the fact (if it be a fact) that the royal ensign of Persia was a golden eagle (Xenophon, Cyrop. vii. 1, 4).
from the east] Isa_41:2; Isa_41:25.
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the man that executeth my counsel] Lit. as R.V. the man of my counsel (the consonantal text has “his counsel”). Not of course “my counsellor” (as in Isa_40:13), but in the sense expressed by the A.V.
I have purposed] Lit. I have formed, i.e. “foreordained,” as in ch. Isa_22:11, Isa_37:26.
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 (11) Calling a ravenous bird.—Cyrus is thus described as…
(11) Calling a ravenous bird.—Cyrus is thus described as Nebuchadnezzar is in Jer_49:22; Eze_17:3. The image derives a special significance from the fact that the standard borne by Cyrus and his successors was a golden eagle (Xen., Cyrop. vii. 1. 4; Anab. i. 10, 12). (Comp. also Mat_24:28; Luk_17:37.) The “sun-rising” is, of course, Persia; the “far country” probably represents Media.
I have spoken.—The word of Jehovah passes, unlike that of the false gods, into a certain and immediate act.
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 Calling a ravenous bird; rather, a bird of prey.…
Calling a ravenous bird; rather, a bird of prey. The imagery is quite natural, and exactly parallel to that by which Nebuchadnezzar is termed "an eagle," both by Jeremiah (Jer_44:22) and Ezekiel. (Eze_17:3) There is no need to suppose any allusion to the fact, if fact it be, that the Persians from the time of Cyrus had for a standard a golden eagle, with wings outspread, on the top of a spear-shaft (Xen., "Cyrop.," 7:1, "Anab.," 1:10, From the east. (comp. Isa_41:2, Isa_41:25) Both Persia and Susiana, which were the primary seats of the power of Cyrus, lay to the east of Babylon, the latter due east, the former somewhat to the south-east. Even Media might, according to Hebrew usage, be described as east, though lying almost due north-east.
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 46:11 The swift bird of prey from the east…
46:11 The swift bird of prey from the east refers to Cyrus, the Persian king (see study note on 41:2).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.