Isaiah 41:3 (KJV)

Passage

He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.

Isaiah 41:2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.

Isaiah 41:3 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.

Isaiah 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Isaiah 41:5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "pursued", "passed", "safely", "even", "gone", and "feet". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "pursued" and "passed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Who raised up the righteous man from..." into verse 4's "Who hath wrought and done it calling...", so "pursued" and "passed" 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 "pursued" and "passed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.