For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
Parallel translations
- WEB When I look, there is no man; even among them there is no counselor who, when I ask of them, can answer a word.
- BSB When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.
- NKJV For I looked, and there was no man; I looked among them, but there was no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
- NASB “But when I look, there is no one, And there is no counselor among them Who, if I ask, can give an answer.
- NLT Not one of your idols told you this. Not one gave any answer when I asked.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Among the idols there is no one who can give counsel or answer a single question.
Overview
God surveys the false gods and finds no counselor, no one able to respond when questioned. Their total impotence is laid bare. The contrast with the all-wise God, who needs no counselor (40:13-14), is complete.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 63:5And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
- Dan 5:8Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.
- Isa 59:16And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
- Dan 2:10–11The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
- Isa 50:2Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.
- Dan 4:7–8Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
- Isa 40:13–14Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 41:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.