Bible Strands
Isaiah 41:8
“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend—
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses Israel and Jacob directly in a passage that contrasts human idol-making with divine sovereignty, positioned between descriptions of craftsmen reinforcing a wooden image and God's promise to uphold the nation. The words — בְּחַרְתִּיךָ (bechar'tikha) translates literally to "I have chosen you," and זֶרַע (zera') means "offspring," identifying Jacob as the direct lineage of Abraham. The thread — Abraham is explicitly called God's friend in James 2:23, and the motif of national election appears in Deuteronomy 14:2. Why it lands — The text establishes Israel's identity as a chosen descendant of Abraham before proceeding to God's pledge of preservation and calling.
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
But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
Cross-references
- James 2:23 And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.
- Exodus 19:5 Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 14:2 for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
- 2 Chronicles 20:7 Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?
- John 15:14 You are My friends if you do what I command you.
- Isaiah 44:21 Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are My servant, O Israel. I have made you, and you are My servant; O Israel, I will never forget you.
- Isaiah 51:2 Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him, he was but one; then I blessed him and multiplied him.
- Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His inheritance!
- Isaiah 29:22 Therefore the LORD who redeemed Abraham says of the house of Jacob: “No longer will Jacob be ashamed and no more will his face grow pale.
- Isaiah 44:1 But now listen, O Jacob My servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.