Isaiah 41:25 (KJV)

Passage

I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

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

Isaiah 41:25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

Isaiah 41:26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.

Isaiah 41:27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "raised", "north", "shall", "come", "rising", "call", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "raised" and "north", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 24's "Behold ye are of nothing and your..." into verse 26's "Who hath declared from the beginning that...", so "raised" and "north" 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 "raised" and "north" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.