Bible Strands
Isaiah 41:16
You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Israel immediately after describing His provision of a threshing sledge in 41:15, promising the destruction of their enemies before turning to the distress of the needy in 41:17.
The words — The text uses תִּזְרֵם (tizreḵem), meaning "you will winnow them," and תָּגִיל (tagîl), meaning "you will be glad." These verbs frame the verse's movement from agricultural judgment to divine celebration.
The thread — The winnowing imagery appears in Jeremiah 51:2 regarding Babylon's judgment, while the call to rejoice in the Lord echoes the salvation language of Isaiah 61:10 and the declaration of God's strength in Isaiah 45:24.
Why it lands — The text commands the recipient to find joy in God's identity rather than in military success, demanding a shift from self-reliance to worship.
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
Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 51:2 I will send strangers to Babylon to winnow her and empty her land; for they will come against her from every side in her day of disaster.
- Isaiah 45:24 Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame.
- Isaiah 61:10 I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
- Habakkuk 3:18 yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
- Jeremiah 9:23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- Jeremiah 15:7 I will scatter them with a winnowing fork at the gates of the land. I will bereave and destroy My people who have not turned from their ways.
- 1 Samuel 2:1 At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation.
- Psalms 1:4 Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.
- Isaiah 12:6 Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”
- Isaiah 17:13 The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.