The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
Parallel translations
- WEB The islands have seen, and fear. The ends of the earth tremble. They approach, and come.
- 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 saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
- Ps 67:7God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
- Ps 65:8They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
- Josh 5:1And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
- Ps 66:3Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
- Josh 2:10For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
- Gen 10:5By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
- Exod 15:14The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
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.