The islands have seen, and fear. The ends of the earth tremble. They approach, and come.
Parallel translations
- KJV The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
- BSB The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward.
- NKJV The coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came.
- NASB ¶The coastlands have seen and are afraid; The ends of the earth tremble; They have approached and have come.
- NLT The lands beyond the sea watch in fear. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war.
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
The distant nations see God's work in history and tremble with fear.
Overview
The far-off coastlands and ends of the earth react to the rise of the conqueror with dread, gathering together in alarm. Their fear exposes their lack of trust in the true God. In response, they turn to idol-making (vv.6-7) rather than to the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ezek 26:15–16Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Tyre: shall not the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made within you?
- Ps 67:7God will bless us. All the ends of the earth shall fear him.
- Ps 65:8They also who dwell in faraway places are afraid at your wonders. You call the morning’s dawn and the evening with songs of joy.
- Josh 5:1When all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard how Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we had crossed over, their heart melted, and there was no more spirit in them, because of the children of Israel.
- Ps 66:3Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you.
- Josh 2:10For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
- Gen 10:5Of these were the islands of the nations divided in their lands, everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations.
- Exod 15:14The peoples have heard. They tremble. Pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 41:5 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.