Isaiah 41:22 (DBY)

Passage

Let them bring them forward, and declare to us what shall happen: shew the former things, what they are, that we may give attention to them, and know the end of them; or let us hear things to come:

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:20 that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

Isaiah 41:21 Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forward your arguments, saith the King of Jacob.

Isaiah 41:22 Let them bring them forward, and declare to us what shall happen: shew the former things, what they are, that we may give attention to them, and know the end of them; or let us hear things to come:

Isaiah 41:23 declare the things that are to happen hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods; yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be astonished, and behold it together.

Isaiah 41:24 Behold, ye are less than nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bring", "forward", "declare", "shall", "happen", "shew", "former", and "things". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bring" and "forward", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "Produce your cause saith Jehovah bring forward..." into verse 23's "declare the things that are to happen...", so "bring" and "forward" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "bring" and "forward" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.