Bible Strands
Isaiah 41:1
“Be silent before Me, O islands, and let the peoples renew their strength. Let them come forward and testify; let us together draw near for judgment.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses the islands and the nations, summoning them to approach Him for a judicial proceeding. This call precedes His declaration that He will raise a conqueror from the east to subdue kings and scatter nations like dust.
The words — הַחֲרִישׁוּ (ha.cha.Ri.shu) commands "be silent," while יַחֲלִיפוּ (ya.cha.Li.fu) means "let them renew" strength. These verbs frame the summons for foreign powers to gather and prepare for divine examination.
The thread — The imperative to silence appears in Habakkuk 2:20 and Zechariah 2:13, where God's presence demands quiet from all earth. The invitation to "draw near for judgment" mirrors the judicial reasoning offered in Isaiah 1:18.
Why it lands — The text requires human powers to stop their own claims and stand ready to answer before God’s verdict. It demands that the reader acknowledge all earthly authority and conflict are subject to divine scrutiny and resolution.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
- Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
- Zechariah 2:13 Be silent before the LORD, all people, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”
- Psalms 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”
- Isaiah 41:6 Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
- Job 38:3 Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
- Job 40:7 “Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
- Isaiah 11:11 On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Isaiah 34:1 Come near, O nations, to listen; pay attention, O peoples. Let the earth hear, and all that fills it, the world and all that springs from it.
- Joel 3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’