Isaiah 41:8 (DBY)

Passage

But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:6 They helped every one his neighbour, and [each] said to his brother, Take courage.

Isaiah 41:7 And the artizan encouraged the founder, he that smootheth [with] the hammer him that smiteth on the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that it be not moved.

Isaiah 41:8 But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend

Isaiah 41:9 thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from the extremities thereof, and to whom I said, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not rejected thee,

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I [am] with thee; be not dismayed, for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "israel", "servant", "jacob", "chosen", "seed", "abraham", and "friend". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "israel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And the artizan encouraged the founder he..." into verse 9's "thou whom I have taken from the...", so "thou" and "israel" 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 "thou" and "israel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.