Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses the exiled community and surrounding nations, commanding them to assemble and listen. He positions this declaration immediately after affirming His sovereign creation and just before identifying the agent of His judgment.
The words — The imperative הִקָּבְצוּ (hiqqabbetsû) commands "gather together," while מִי הִגִּיד (mi higgîd) asks "who has declared" regarding the idols' inability to predict the coming events.
The thread — The summons for nations to assemble and the challenge regarding prophetic foretelling mirrors the judicial scene in Isaiah 43:9. The judgment against Babylon and the Chaldeans aligns with the stirring of the Medes in Isaiah 13:17 and the military campaigns against Merathaim and Pekod in Jeremiah 50:21.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that Yahweh alone controls history and fulfills His purposes through appointed agents. It requires the reader to abandon reliance on powerless idols and acknowledge God's sovereign execution of judgment.
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
All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 43:9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
- Isaiah 13:17 Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.
- Jeremiah 50:21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,” declares the LORD.
- Isaiah 13:4 Listen, a tumult on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations gathered together! The LORD of Hosts is mobilizing an army for war.
- Isaiah 41:22 “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.
- Isaiah 45:20 Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
- Isaiah 46:10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
- Jeremiah 51:20 “You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.
- Isaiah 44:7 Who then is like Me? Let him say so! Let him declare his case before Me, since I established an ancient people. Let him foretell the things to come, and what is to take place.
- Isaiah 44:28 who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”