Isaiah 41:12

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

תְּבַקְשֵׁם֙ וְלֹ֣א תִמְצָאֵ֔ם אַנְשֵׁ֖י מַצֻּתֶ֑ךָ יִהְי֥וּ כְאַ֛יִן וּכְאֶ֖פֶס אַנְשֵׁ֥י מִלְחַמְתֶּֽךָ׃

Transliteration

təḇaqšēm wəlōʾ timṣāʾēm ʾanšê maṣṣuteḵā yihyû ḵəʾayin ûḵəʾepes ʾanšê milḥamteḵā

Grammar Details

*təḇaqšēm*: verb, piel imperfect 2nd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix - you will seek them
*wəlōʾ*: conjunction + negative particle - and not
*timṣāʾēm*: verb, qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix - you will find them
*ʾanšê*: noun, masculine plural construct - men of
*maṣṣuteḵā*: noun, feminine singular + 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your strife/contention
*yihyû*: verb, qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural - they will be
*ḵəʾayin*: preposition + noun - as nothing
*ûḵəʾepes*: conjunction + preposition + noun - and as non-entity
*milḥamteḵā*: noun, feminine singular + 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your war/battle

Word Meanings

*təḇaqšēm*: you will seek them/search for them/look for them
*timṣāʾēm*: you will find them/locate them/discover them
*ʾanšê maṣṣuteḵā*: men of your strife/your opponents/those who quarrel with you
*ḵəʾayin*: as nothing/like nothing/as nonexistence
*ûḵəʾepes*: and as non-entity/as zero/as emptiness
*ʾanšê milḥamteḵā*: men of your war/those who war against you/your combatants

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

🔄 Compare with

ESVNIVCSBNLTNASBNET

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Ps 37:35-36 : 35 I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil. 36 But one passed by, and, lo, he was not: Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
Job 20:7-9 : 7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: They that have seen him shall say, Where is he? 8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: Yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. 9 The eye which saw him shall see him no more; Neither shall his place any more behold him.
Isa 17:14 : 14 At eventide, behold, terror; [and] before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that despoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Isa 41:10-11
2 verses
87%
10Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11Behold, all they that are incensed against thee shall be put to shame and confounded: they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, and shall perish.
Jer 1:19
76%
19And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee.
Lev 26:37-38
2 verses
74%
37And they shall stumble one upon another, as it were before the sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
38And ye shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
Isa 54:15
73%
15Behold, they may gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall because of thee.
Isa 41:13
72%
13For I, Jehovah thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
Ps 21:8-9
2 verses
71%
8Thy hand will find out all thine enemies; Thy right hand will find out those that hate thee.
9Thou wilt make them as a fiery furnace in the time of thine anger: Jehovah will swallow them up in his wrath, And the fire shall devour them.
Ezek 26:21
71%
21I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt no more have any being; though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Ezek 7:25
71%
25Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.
Jer 20:11
71%
11But Jehovah is with me as a mighty one [and] a terrible: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail; they shall be utterly put to shame, because they have not dealt wisely, even with an everlasting dishonor which shall never be forgotten.
Lev 26:7
70%
7And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
Jer 15:20
70%
20And I will make thee unto this people a fortified brazen wall; and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith Jehovah.
Job 8:22
70%
22They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; And the tent of the wicked shall be no more.
Jer 30:16
70%
16Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that despoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.
Ezek 16:40
70%
40They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
Isa 57:12
70%
12I will declare thy righteousness; and as for thy works, they shall not profit thee.
Isa 47:14-15
2 verses
70%
14Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before.
15Thus shall the things be unto thee wherein thou hast labored: they that have trafficked with thee from thy youth shall wander every one to his quarter; there shall be none to save thee.
Amos 8:12
70%
12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, and shall not find it.
Lev 26:17
70%
17And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be smitten before your enemies: they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
Isa 34:12
70%
12They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing.
Job 6:21
69%
21For now ye are nothing; Ye see a terror, and are afraid.
Deut 7:23-24
2 verses
69%
23But Jehovah thy God will deliver them up before thee, and will discomfit them with a great discomfiture, until they be destroyed.
24And he will deliver their kings into thy hand, and thou shalt make their name to perish from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.
Isa 29:5
69%
5But the multitude of thy foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be in an instant suddenly.
Deut 3:22
69%
22Ye shall not fear them; for Jehovah your God, he it is that fighteth for you.
Isa 41:24
69%
24Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you.
Zech 10:5
69%
5And they shall be as mighty men, treading down [their enemies] in the mire of the streets in the battle; and they shall fight, because Jehovah is with them; and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
Isa 60:12
69%
12For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
2 Sam 22:41-42
2 verses
69%
41Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me, That I might cut off them that hate me.
42They looked, but there was none to save; Even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not.
Exod 14:14
69%
14Jehovah will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
Mic 5:9
69%
9Let thy hand be lifted up above thine adversaries, and let all thine enemies be cut off.
Deut 23:6
69%
6Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.
Isa 40:17
69%
17All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
Prov 1:28
69%
28Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me:
Deut 20:12
69%
12And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
Ps 53:5
69%
5There were they in great fear, where no fear was; For God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: Thou hast put them to shame, because of God hath rejected them.
Deut 28:25
69%
25Jehovah will cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them: and thou shalt be tossed to and from among all the kingdoms of the earth.
Jer 45:5
68%
5And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not; for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith Jehovah; but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
Exod 15:7
68%
7And in the greatness of thine excellency thou overthrowest them that rise up against thee: Thou sendest forth thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble.
Jer 51:26
68%
26And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.
Isa 26:11
68%
11Jehovah, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not: but they shall see [thy] zeal for the people, and be put to shame; yea, fire shall devour thine adversaries.
Ezek 28:19
68%
19All they that know you among the peoples shall be astonished at you: you are become a terror, and you shall nevermore have any being.
Isa 49:17
68%
17Thy children make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from thee.
Isa 26:14
68%
14[They are] dead, they shall not live; [they are] deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all remembrance of them to perish.
Zech 12:9
68%
9And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Nah 1:9
68%
9What do ye devise against Jehovah? he will make a full end; affliction shall not rise up the second time.