Isaiah 41:21 (WEB)

Passage

Produce your cause,” says Yahweh. “Bring out your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:19 I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle, and oil trees in the wilderness. I will set cypress trees, pine, and box trees together in the desert;

Isaiah 41:20 that they may see, know, consider, and understand together, that Yahweh’s hand has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Isaiah 41:21 Produce your cause,” says Yahweh. “Bring out your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob.

Isaiah 41:22 “Let them announce, and declare to us what shall happen. Declare the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come.

Isaiah 41:23 Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and see it together.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "produce", "cause", "says", "yahweh", "bring", "strong", and "reasons". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "produce" and "cause", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "that they may see know consider and..." into verse 22's "Let them announce and declare to us...", so "produce" and "cause" 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 "produce" and "cause" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.