Each one helps his neighbor And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Everyone helps his neighbor. They say to their brothers, “Be strong!”
- KJV They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
- BSB Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
- NKJV Everyone helped his neighbor, And said to his brother, “Be of good courage!”
- NLT The idol makers encourage one another, saying to each other, “Be strong!”
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
In fear, the nations encourage one another to keep making idols.
Overview
Faced with God's unsettling acts in history, the peoples respond not by repentance but by mutual encouragement to produce more idols. The verse satirizes their misplaced confidence. Human solidarity in false worship is no defense against the living God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 44:12The blacksmith takes an ax, works in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm. He is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is faint.
- 1 Sam 4:7–9The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” They said, “Woe to us! For there has not been such a thing before.
- Isa 35:4Tell those who have a fearful heart, “Be strong. Don’t be afraid. Behold, your God will come with vengeance, God’s retribution. He will come and save you.
- Isa 40:19A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.
- Dan 3:1–7Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its width six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
- Acts 19:24–28For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen,
- Joel 3:9–11Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Stir up the mighty men. Let all the warriors draw near. Let them come up.
- 1 Sam 5:3–5When the people of Ashdod arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before Yahweh’s ark. They took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 41:6 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.