The Meaning of Isaiah 41:25 Explained

Isaiah 41:25

KJV: I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

YLT: I have stirred up one from the north, And he cometh, From the rising of the sun he calleth in My name, And he cometh in on prefects as on clay, And as a potter treadeth down mire.

Darby: I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come, from the rising of the sun, he who will call upon my name; and he shall come upon princes as on mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.

ASV: I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I have raised up  [one] from the north,  and he shall come:  from the rising  of the sun  shall he call  upon my name:  and he shall come  upon princes  as [upon] morter,  and as the potter  treadeth  clay. 

What does Isaiah 41:25 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord, in contrast to the idols, claimed that He would do something in the future and predicted what it would be. He would arouse a conqueror from the north, one who was presently dormant, as if sleeping. This individual proved to be Cyrus the Persian ( Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1), who originated in the East and the North in reference to Palestine. [1] He would call on the Lord"s name in that he would proclaim the reputation of the Lord by fulfilling His prophecy (cf. Ezra 1:2-4), not by worshipping Yahweh exclusively. He would thoroughly defeat his enemies.

Context Summary

Isaiah 41:17-29 - What The Lord's Hand Does For The Needy
Life is not easy for any of us, if we regard external conditions only; but directly we learn the divine secret, rivers flow from bare heights, fountains arise in sterile valleys, and the desert blooms like the forest-glade. To the ordinary eye there might appear no outward change in the forbidding circumstance; but faith's eye always beholds a very paradise of beauty where other eyes see only straitened circumstances and a trying lot.
Once again our minds are brought back to the great convocation announced in the opening verses of the chapter. The idols are asked to say or do something to prove that they are divine. See Isaiah 41:21-23. There is no response; with the result that a crushing verdict is passed on them as recorded in Isaiah 41:24. On the other hand, the prophet of the Lord is prepared with His predictions of Cyrus "the one from the East," (see Isaiah 41:2 and Isaiah 44:28) which would be fulfilled before that generation had passed away. Let us give heed to the sure word of prophecy, "as unto a light that shineth in a dark place," 2 Peter 1:19. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 41

1  God expostulates with his people, about his mercies to the church
10  About his promises
21  And about the vanity of idols

What do the individual words in Isaiah 41:25 mean?

I have raised up one from the north and he shall come from the rising of the sun he shall call on My name and he shall come against princes as [though] mortar and as the potter treads clay
הַעִיר֤וֹתִי מִצָּפוֹן֙ וַיַּ֔את מִמִּזְרַח־ שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ יִקְרָ֣א בִשְׁמִ֑י וְיָבֹ֤א סְגָנִים֙ כְּמוֹ־ חֹ֔מֶר וּכְמ֥וֹ יוֹצֵ֖ר יִרְמָס־ טִֽיט

הַעִיר֤וֹתִי  I  have  raised  up  one 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: עוּר 
Sense: to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite.
מִצָּפוֹן֙  from  the  north 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular
Root: צָפֹון  
Sense: north (of direction), northward.
וַיַּ֔את  and  he  shall  come 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָתָה  
Sense: to come, arrive.
מִמִּזְרַח־  from  the  rising 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מִזְרָח  
Sense: place of sunrise, east.
שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ  of  the  sun 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: שֶׁמֶשׁ  
Sense: sun.
יִקְרָ֣א  he  shall  call 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
בִשְׁמִ֑י  on  My  name 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
וְיָבֹ֤א  and  he  shall  come 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
סְגָנִים֙  against  princes 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: סֶגֶן  
Sense: ruler, prefect, governor, a subordinate ruler.
כְּמוֹ־  as  [though] 
Parse: Preposition
Root: כְּמֹו  
Sense: like, as, the like of which conj.
חֹ֔מֶר  mortar 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹמֶר 
Sense: cement, mortar, clay.
וּכְמ֥וֹ  and  as 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: כְּמֹו  
Sense: like, as, the like of which conj.
יוֹצֵ֖ר  the  potter 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵר 
Sense: to form, fashion, frame.
יִרְמָס־  treads 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָמַס  
Sense: to trample.
טִֽיט  clay 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: טִיט  
Sense: mud, clay, mire, damp dirt.