Bible Strands
Isaiah 41:6
Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet describes idol-makers in the midst of nations trembling before Yahweh’s approach. They turn to one another to encourage mutual courage as they work.
The words — The phrase חֲזָֽק (cha.Zak) literally commands "be strong," while יַעְזֹ֑רוּ (ya'.Zo.ru) denotes the reciprocal action of "they help."
The thread — This command to strengthen resonates with Isaiah 35:4’s directive to anxious hearts, while the craftsmen’s mutual urging contrasts with the Philistines’ terror in 1 Samuel 4:7. The same workshop context surfaces in Isaiah 40:19.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human solidarity in fear or labor is merely procedural, not salvific. Readers must see that mutual encouragement cannot replace the divine intervention that actually stills the trembling earth.
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
They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 4:7 the Philistines were afraid. “The gods have entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us, for nothing like this has happened before.
- Isaiah 35:4 Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”
- Isaiah 40:19 To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?
- Isaiah 44:12 The blacksmith takes a tool and labors over the coals; he fashions an idol with hammers and forges it with his strong arms. Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength; he fails to drink water and grows faint.
- Daniel 3:1 King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
- Joel 3:9 Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!
- Acts 19:24 It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen.
- 1 Samuel 5:3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.