Bible Strands
Isaiah 46:11
I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, and truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, and I will surely do it.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — YHWH speaks to Judah, contrasting His sovereign word with the silence of Babylon's idols (46:1–7). He names a coming conqueror from the east who will serve His purpose.
The words — עַיִט ('ayit), "bird of prey," describes a human agent, reducing a king to a creature summoned and directed. עֲצָתִי ('atzati), "my purpose," echoes 46:10 and binds the declaration to God's own will.
The thread — Isaiah 14:24 repeats the formula "as I have planned, so will it be"; Numbers 23:19 asks "Does He speak and not act?"; Job 23:13 affirms "He does what He desires."
Why it lands — The verse removes the gap between divine speech and divine action; what God declares is not a prediction but a decree. The reader is asked to hold that standard against every other claim to certainty.
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
Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
Cross-references
- Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Isaiah 14:24 The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.
- Job 23:13 But He is unchangeable, and who can oppose Him? He does what He desires.
- Isaiah 41:2 Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
- Ephesians 1:11 In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,
- Acts 5:39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
- Ezra 1:2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah.
- Psalms 119:24 Your testimonies are indeed my delight; they are my counselors.
- Isaiah 38:15 What can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this. I will walk slowly all my years because of the anguish of my soul.
- Isaiah 48:14 Come together, all of you, and listen: Which of the idols has foretold these things? The LORD’s chosen ally will carry out His desire against Babylon, and His arm will be against the Chaldeans.