Isaiah 41:23 (GNV)

Passage

Shewe the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods: yea, doe good or doe euill, that we may declare it, and beholde it together.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:21 Stand to your cause, saith the Lord: bring forth your strong reasons, saith ye King of Iaakob.

Isaiah 41:22 Let them bring foorth, and let them tell vs what shall come: let them shew the former things what they be, that wee may consider them, and knowe the latter ende of them: either declare vs things for to come.

Isaiah 41:23 Shewe the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods: yea, doe good or doe euill, that we may declare it, and beholde it together.

Isaiah 41:24 Beholde, ye are of no value, and your making is of naught: man hath chosen an abomination by them.

Isaiah 41:25 I haue raised vp from the North, and he shall come: from the East sunne shall he cal vpon my Name, and shall come vpon princes as vpon clay, and as the potter treadeth myre vnder the foote.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shewe", "things", "come", "hereafter", "gods", "good", "euill", and "declare". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shewe" and "things", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "Let them bring foorth and let them..." into verse 24's "Beholde ye are of no value and...", so "shewe" and "things" 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 "shewe" and "things" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.