Isaiah 48:5

5 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

Isaiah 48:5 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 48:5

I have even from the beginning declared it to thee
From the beginning of their being a people, even before they were formed into a body politic; yea, from the original of them, from the time of Abraham their ancestor, as before observed: before it came to pass I showed it thee;
some hundreds of years before; first to Abraham, then to Isaac, then to Jacob, then to Joseph, and then to Moses, and by him to the children of Israel: lest thou shouldest say, mine idol hath done them, and my graven image,
and my molten image, hath commanded them;
or my libation or fusion of wine, oil, or blood, by which, as by other things, they made conjectures of what was to come to pass; so Gussetius F2 interprets the last word; lest they should ascribe their deliverance out of Egypt to the idols they made and worshipped, being a people prone to idolatry; as they did when they made a golden calf, and danced about it, ( Exodus 32:4 ) . This the Lord knew before hand, and therefore to prevent this stupidity, or convince them of it, he foretold what should come to pass, which their idols were never able to do.


FOOTNOTES:

F2 Ebr. Comment. p. 517.

Isaiah 48:5 In-Context

3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;
5 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.
6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.
7 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.
The King James Version is in the public domain.