The Meaning of Isaiah 46:8 Explained

Isaiah 46:8

KJV: Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.

YLT: Remember this, and shew yourselves men, Turn it back, O transgressors, to the heart.

Darby: Remember this, and shew yourselves men; call it to mind, ye transgressors.

ASV: Remember this, and show yourselves men; bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Remember  this, and shew yourselves men:  bring [it] again  to mind,  O ye transgressors. 

What does Isaiah 46:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God admonished the transgressing Israelites to remember what He was about to say, which would summarize the point being made in this section. It would give them confidence whenever they recalled it in the future. Again, remembering is the antidote to unbelief. Israel needed much encouragement, as well as stern warnings, because she was only a small island of monotheists in a sea of polytheists.

Context Summary

Isaiah 46:1-13 - God's Salvation Shall Not Tarry
Here is a startling contrast! Babylon is broken up. An invading army of stern monotheists have slain the idolatrous priests at their altars and are engaged in carrying out the idols for the bonfire. And as the Jewish remnant is witnessing the extraordinary spectacle, they are reminded that their God does not require to be borne. Nay, on the contrary He has borne His people from the earliest days and will continue to bear them till the heavens have passed away.
The contrast is a perpetual one. Some people carry their religion; others are carried by it. Some are burdened by minute prescriptions and an external ritual; others yield themselves to God, to be borne by Him in old age as they were in the helplessness of childhood. They are persuaded that He will bear them "as a man doth bear His son," in all the way that they go, until they come to the prepared place. See Deuteronomy 1:31; Isaiah 63:9. God immediately responds to a trust like that, and His salvation does not tarry. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 46

1  The idols of Babylon could not save themselves
3  God saves his people to the end
5  Idols are not comparable to God for power
12  Or present salvation

What do the individual words in Isaiah 46:8 mean?

Remember this and show yourselves men Recall you transgressors To mind
זִכְרוּ־ זֹ֖את וְהִתְאֹשָׁ֑שׁוּ הָשִׁ֥יבוּ פוֹשְׁעִ֖ים עַל־ לֵֽב

זִכְרוּ־  Remember 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
זֹ֖את  this 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
וְהִתְאֹשָׁ֑שׁוּ  and  show  yourselves  men 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hitpael, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: אָשַׁשׁ  
Sense: (Hithpalel) to be a man, show masculinity, champion, great man.
הָשִׁ֥יבוּ  Recall 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
פוֹשְׁעִ֖ים  you  transgressors 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: פָּשַׁע  
Sense: to rebel, transgress, revolt.
לֵֽב  mind 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.