Isaiah 40:21 (KJV)

Passage

Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

Isaiah 40:20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

Isaiah 40:21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Isaiah 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

Isaiah 40:23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "known", "heard", "hath", "been", "told", "beginning", "understood", and "foundations". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "known" and "heard", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "He that is so impoverished that he..." into verse 22's "It is he that sitteth upon the...", so "known" and "heard" 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 "known" and "heard" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.