Bible Strands
Isaiah 44:1
But now listen, O Jacob My servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Jacob and Israel at a transitional moment signaled by "But now," positioning the speech as a direct divine summons. The context identifies the speaker as their Maker who formed them from the womb and will provide help.
The words — The imperative שְׁמַע (she.Ma') commands "listen," and the perfect verb בָּחַרְתִּי (ba.Char.ti) declares "I have chosen." These terms establish the address as an authoritative call grounded in prior divine selection.
The thread — The designation of Jacob and Israel as the Lord’s chosen servant recurs in Isaiah 41:8 and Jeremiah 30:10, while Romans 11:5 extends the principle of a chosen remnant to the present era.
Why it lands — The text requires the audience to direct their attention to the speaker and acknowledge their elected status. It demands recognition of divine initiative as the basis for the forthcoming promise.
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
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
Cross-references
- Isaiah 41:8 “But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend—
- Jeremiah 30:10 As for you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return to quiet and ease, with no one to make him afraid.
- Romans 11:5 In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
- Psalms 105:6 O offspring of His servant Abraham, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones.
- Jeremiah 4:7 A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to lay waste your land. Your cities will be reduced to ruins and lie uninhabited.
- Jeremiah 46:27 But you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return to quiet and ease, with no one to make him afraid.
- Hebrews 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice,
- Genesis 17:7 I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
- Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.
- Psalms 81:11 But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.