Isaiah 41:2 (YLT)

Passage

Who stirred up from the east a righteous one? He calleth him to His foot, He giveth before him nations, And kings He causeth him to rule, He giveth <FI>them<Fi> as dust <FI>to<Fi> his sword, As driven stubble <FI>to<Fi> his bow.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:1 Keep silent towards Me, O isles, And the peoples pass on <FI>to<Fi> power, They come nigh, then they speak, `Together--to judgment we draw near.'

Isaiah 41:2 Who stirred up from the east a righteous one? He calleth him to His foot, He giveth before him nations, And kings He causeth him to rule, He giveth <FI>them<Fi> as dust <FI>to<Fi> his sword, As driven stubble <FI>to<Fi> his bow.

Isaiah 41:3 He pursueth them, he passeth over in safety A path with his feet he entereth not.

Isaiah 41:4 Who hath wrought and done, Calling the generations from the first? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last I <FI>am<Fi> He.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "stirred", "east", "righteous", "calleth", "foot", "giveth", "before", and "nations". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "stirred" and "east", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Keep silent towards Me O isles And..." into verse 3's "He pursueth them he passeth over in...", so "stirred" and "east" 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 "stirred" and "east" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.