Isaiah 41:23 (WEB)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Isaiah 41:24 Behold, you are of nothing, and your work is of nothing. He who chooses you is an abomination.

Isaiah 41:25 “I have raised up one from the north, and he has come; from the rising of the sun, one who calls on my name; and he shall come on rulers as on mortar, and as the potter treads clay.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "declare", "things", "come", "hereafter", "gods", "good", "evil", and "dismayed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "declare" 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 announce and declare to us..." into verse 24's "Behold you are of nothing and your...", so "declare" 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 "declare" and "things" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.