Isaiah 41:22

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 41:21-29

The Lord, by the prophet, here repeats the challenge to idolaters to make out the pretentions of their idols: ?Produce your cause (Isa. 41:21) and make your best of it; bring forth the strongest reasons you have to prove that your idols are gods, and worthy of your adoration.? Note, There needs no more to show the absurdity of sin than to produce the reasons that are given in defence of it, for they carry with them their own confutation. I. The idols are here challenged to bring proofs of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 41:22

Let them bring them forth ,.... Not their reasons, as before, but their gods; let them cause them to come nigh, let them appear in court, and speak for themselves, when their worshippers have said all they can in defence of their deity: and show us what shall happen : what shall come to pass hereafter; and by that prove their divinity; for none but God can foretell things to come with certainty; for everything else but what comes from God, by his prophets, is all conjecture, ambiguous,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 41:17-29

The claims of Jehovah. The thought seems to resume the thread broken off at the beginning of the chapter. Jehovah appeals to what he has done and to what he is. I. HIS MERCIFUL DEALINGS WITH HIS PEOPLE . The scene and state of exile is brought before us. They are dwelling in the "tents of Kedar." They are in the midst of a flourishing commercial empire; yet it is to them as a desert where no water is (cf. Psalms 63:1 ). The true desert is the soul without the sense of God's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 41:21-29

JEHOVAH 'S CONTROVERSY WITH THE NATIONS AND THEIR IDOL - GODS . The argument is now taken up from Isaiah 41:1-4 . Jehovah and his worshippers are on the one side; the idol-gods and their votaries on the other. The direct challenge, however, is given by Jehovah himself to the idols: 1 . What predictions of their own can they bring forward as proofs of supernatural knowledge? 2 . What indications can they give of power either to do good or to do evil ( Isaiah 41:22 ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 41:21-29

The futility and absurdity of false systems do not prevent them from keeping their hold on men. At the present day, men are apt to find it strange that the prophets should spend so much time, employ so many words, in confuting idolatry and showing it to be utter and absolute folly. To us of the present age the absurdity seems palpable and gross—therefore not worth arguing against. But systems of religion or of irreligion, whenever they have become established and have got possession of men's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 41:21-29

A true test of Divinity. When these words were written the question to be solved was—Which god, of all the rival deities, is worthy of human trust and worship? The question now is—What is the authority to which we shall submit our judgment and in which we shall rest?—is it human nature, or is it the forces of the material world, or is it the Lord God? The verses before us suggest to us that one criterion in this state of inquiry is to be found in the consideration that we cannot find rest in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 41:22

Let them … show us what will happen . God claims that the power of predicting the future is his own inalienable prerogative. He defies the idol-gods and their votaries to give any clear prediction of future events. No doubt the claim to possess the power was made very generally among the idolatrous nations, who almost universally practised divination, and in many case s possessed oracles. But it was a false claim, based upon fraud and cunning, which deceived men as often as dependence was... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 41:22

Let them bring them forth - Let the idols, or the worshippers of idols, bring forth the evidences of their divine nature and power. Or more probably it means, ‘let them draw near or approach.’And show us what shall happen - None but the true God can discern the future, and predict what is to occur. To be able to do this, is therefore a proof of divinity to which God often appeals as a demonstration of his own divine character (see Isaiah 44:7-8; Isaiah 45:3-7; Isaiah 46:9-10). This idea, that... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 41:21-24

Isaiah 41:21-24. Produce your cause He renews his challenge to the idolaters to plead the cause of their idols, and give convincing proof of their divinity: see on Isaiah 41:1. Bring forth your strong reasons Hebrew, הגישׁו עצמותיכם , which Bishop Lowth renders, “Produce these your mighty powers;” and Jerome, “Accedant idola vestra, quæ putatis esse fortissima,” let those of your idols, whom you think most powerful, approach. “I prefer this,” says the bishop, “to all other... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 41:1-29

The living God and idols (41:1-29)At that time Cyrus of Persia had been expanding his empire. He had conquered all the countries to the north and east, and was now threatening Babylon. The prophet imagines God calling the nations to assemble before him and asking them a question: who is it that has stirred up Cyrus to carry out this conquest? The answer: Yahweh (41:1-4).As the armies of Cyrus approach these nations the people panic, and in their distress call upon their gods for protection.... read more

Group of Brands