Isaiah 41:5 (YLT)

Passage

Seen have isles and fear, ends of the earth tremble, They have drawn near, yea, they come.

Nearby Context

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.

Isaiah 41:5 Seen have isles and fear, ends of the earth tremble, They have drawn near, yea, they come.

Isaiah 41:6 Each his neighbour they help, And to his brother he saith, `Be strong.'

Isaiah 41:7 And strengthen doth an artisan the refiner, A smoother <FI>with<Fi> a hammer, Him who is beating <FI>on<Fi> an anvil, Saying, `For joining it <FI>is<Fi> good,' And he strengtheneth it with nails, it is not moved!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seen", "isles", "fear", "ends", "earth", "tremble", "drawn", and "near". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seen" and "isles", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Who hath wrought and done Calling the..." into verse 6's "Each his neighbour they help And to...", so "seen" and "isles" 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 "seen" and "isles" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.