The Meaning of Isaiah 44:1 Explained

Isaiah 44:1

KJV: Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:

YLT: And now, hear, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have fixed on:

Darby: And now hear, Jacob, my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen:

ASV: Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel, who I have chosen:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yet now hear,  O Jacob  my servant;  and Israel,  whom I have chosen: 

What does Isaiah 44:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord again summoned His chosen servant Israel to pay attention to what He was about to say (cf. Isaiah 43:1). Judgment was not Yahweh"s final word to His people. This new word would be good news in contrast to what had immediately preceded (cf. Isaiah 43:28).

Context Summary

Isaiah 44:1-11 - "besides Me There Is No God"
What gracious promises are given throughout Scripture, not only to God's children, but to their seed! Here the thirsty soul, longing for love, sympathy, God, is promised an abundant supply. See John 4:13-14; Revelation 22:17. But notice the extreme beauty of the further response, which shall be made by the young followers of our Lord:
One shall say, I am the Lord's, Isaiah 44:5. What ecstasy such a declaration causes to a parent's heart! Young friends, do not be satisfied till you have confessed Christ. Say, I am the Lord's. Another shall write on his hand, unto the Lord; that is, he shall dedicate his hand to do God's work in the world. Oh, to write a similar declaration on every member of our body! Another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord; that is, shall write these words on a blank sheet of paper, and his own name beneath them.
Again we have the conflict with the idols of the heathen, Isaiah 44:6-11. But what chance have their votaries when confronted by the glad and assured testimony of those who have seen the King in His beauty! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 44

1  God comforts the church with his promises
7  The vanity of idols
9  And folly of idol makers
21  He exhorts to praise God for his redemption and omnipotence

What do the individual words in Isaiah 44:1 mean?

And yet now hear Jacob My servant and Israel I have chosen whom
וְעַתָּ֥ה שְׁמַ֖ע יַעֲקֹ֣ב עַבְדִּ֑י וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בָּחַ֥רְתִּי בֽוֹ

וְעַתָּ֥ה  And  yet  now 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
שְׁמַ֖ע  hear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
יַעֲקֹ֣ב  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
עַבְדִּ֑י  My  servant 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עֶבֶד  
Sense: slave, servant.
וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  and  Israel 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
בָּחַ֥רְתִּי  I  have  chosen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: בָּחוּר 
Sense: to choose, elect, decide for.
בֽוֹ  whom 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular