Isaiah 44:25

Geneva Bible (1560)

I destroy the tokens of ye southsayers, and make them that coniecture, fooles, and turne the wise men backwarde, and make their knowledge foolishnesse.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

מֵפֵר֙ אֹת֣וֹת בַּדִּ֔ים וְקֹסְמִ֖ים יְהוֹלֵ֑ל מֵשִׁ֧יב חֲכָמִ֛ים אָח֖וֹר וְדַעְתָּ֥ם יְשַׂכֵּֽל׃

Transliteration

mēp̄ēr ʾōṯôṯ baddîm wəqōsəmîm yəhôlēl mēšîḇ ḥăḵāmîm ʾāḥôr wəḏaʿtām yəśakkēl

Grammar Details

• *mēp̄ēr*: verb, hiphil participle, masculine singular - frustrating
• *ʾōṯôṯ*: noun, feminine plural construct - signs of
• *baddîm*: noun, masculine plural - liars/empty talkers
• *wəqōsəmîm*: conjunction + verb, qal participle, masculine plural - and diviners
• *yəhôlēl*: verb, poel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - he makes fools
• *mēšîḇ*: verb, hiphil participle, masculine singular - turning back
• *ḥăḵāmîm*: noun, masculine plural - wise men
• *ʾāḥôr*: adverb - backward
• *wəḏaʿtām*: conjunction + noun, feminine singular construct with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - and their knowledge
• *yəśakkēl*: verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - he makes foolish

Word Meanings

• *mēp̄ēr*: frustrating/breaking/bringing to nothing
• *ʾōṯôṯ baddîm*: signs of liars/omens of impostors/tokens of false prophets
• *qōsəmîm*: diviners/soothsayers/fortune-tellers
• *yəhôlēl*: makes fools/drives mad/makes into fools
• *mēšîḇ ḥăḵāmîm ʾāḥôr*: turning wise men backward/driving back the wise/confounding the wise
• *yəśakkēl*: makes foolish/makes into folly/shows to be nonsense

Referenced Verses

• 2 Sam 15:31 : 31 Then one tolde Dauid, saying, Ahithophel is one of them that haue cospired with Absalom: and Dauid sayde, O Lorde, I pray thee, turne the counsell of Ahithophel into foolishnesse.
• Job 5:12-14 : 12 He scattereth the deuices of the craftie: so that their handes can not accomplish that which they doe enterprise. 13 He taketh the wise in their craftinesse, and the counsel of the wicked is made foolish. 14 They meete with darkenesse in the day time, and grope at noone day, as in the night.
• Ps 33:10 : 10 The Lorde breaketh the counsell of the heathen, and bringeth to nought the deuices of the people.
• Jer 50:36 : 36 A sworde is vpon the soothsaiers, and they shall dote: a sword is vpon her strong men, & they shalbe afraide.
• Jer 51:57 : 57 And I will make drunke her princes, and her wise men, her dukes, and her nobles, and her strong men: and they shall sleepe a perpetuall sleepe, and not wake, sayth the King, whose Name is the Lord of hostes.
• Isa 29:14 : 14 Therefore behold, I wil againe doe a marueilous worke in this people, euen a marueilous worke, and a wonder: for the wisdome of their wise men shall perish, and the vnderstanding of their prudent men shalbe hid.
• Isa 47:12-14 : 12 Stand now among thine inchanters, and in the multitude of thy southsaiers (with whome thou hast wearied thy selfe from thy youth) if so be thou maist haue profit, or if so be thou maist haue strength. 13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the astrologers, the starre gasers, and prognosticatours stand vp, & saue thee from these things, that shall come vpon thee. 14 Beholde, they shall be as stubble: the fire shall burne them: they shal not deliuer their owne liues from the power of the flame: there shalbe no coles to warme at, nor light to sit by.
• Jer 27:9-9 : 9 Therefore heare not your prophets nor your southsayers, nor your dreamers, nor your inchanters, nor your sorcerers, which say vnto you thus, Ye shall not serue the King of Babel. 10 For they prophecie a lie vnto you to cause you to goe farre from your lande, and that I should cast you out, and you should perish.
• Jer 28:9-9 : 9 And the Prophet which prophecieth of peace, when the word of the Prophet shall come to passe, then shall the Prophet be knowen that the Lorde hath truely sent him. 10 Then Hananiah the Prophet tooke the yoke from the Prophet Ieremiahs necke, and brake it. 11 And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lorde, Euen so will I breake the yoke of Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, from the necke of al nations within the space of two yeres: and the Prophet Ieremiah went his way. 12 Then the word of the Lorde came vnto Ieremiah the Prophet, (after that Hananiah the Prophet had broken the yoke from the necke of the Prophet Ieremiah) saying, 13 Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus sayth the Lord, Thou hast broken the yokes of wood, but thou shalt make for them yokes of yron. 14 For thus saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, I haue put a yoke of yron vpon the necke of all these nations, that they may serue Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel: for they shall serue him, and I haue giuen him the beasts of the fielde also. 15 Then sayd the Prophet Ieremiah vnto the Prophet Hananiah, Heare nowe Hananiah, the Lorde hath not sent thee, but thou makest this people to trust in a lye. 16 Therefore thus saith the Lorde, Beholde, I will cast thee from of the earth: this yeere thou shalt die, because thou hast spoken rebelliously against the Lord. 17 So Hananiah the Prophet dyed the same yeere in the seuenth moneth.
• Jer 49:7 : 7 To Edom thus sayeth the Lord of hostes: Is wisdome no more in Teman? is counsel perished fro their children? is their wisdome vanished?
• Isa 19:11-14 : 11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fooles: the counsell of the wise counselers of Pharaoh is become foolish: how say ye vnto Pharaoh, I am the sonne of the wise? I am the sonne of the ancient Kings? 12 Where are nowe thy wise men, that they may tell thee, or may knowe what the Lorde of hostes hath determined against Egypt? 13 The princes of Zoan are become fooles: the princes of Noph are deceiued, they haue deceiued Egypt, euen the corners of the tribes thereof. 14 The Lorde hath mingled among them the spirite of errours: and they haue caused Egypt to erre in euery worke thereof, as a drunken man erreth in his vomite.
• Exod 9:11 : 11 And the sorcerers could not stande before Moses, because of the scab: for the scab was vpon the enchanters, and vpon all the Egyptians.
• Dan 1:20 : 20 And in all matters of wisedome, and vnderstanding that the King enquired of them, hee founde them tenne times better then all the inchanters and astrologians, that were in all his realme.
• Dan 2:10-12 : 10 Then the Caldeans answered before the King, and sayde, There is no man vpon earth that can declare the Kings matter: yea, there is neither king nor prince nor lorde that asked such things at an inchanter or astrologian or Caldean. 11 For it is a rare thing that the King requireth, and there is none other that can declare it before the King, except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh. 12 For this cause the king was angrie and in great furie, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babel.
• Dan 4:7 : 7 (4:4) So came the inchanters, the astrologians, the Caldeans and the sothsayers, to whom I tolde the dreame, but they could not shew me the interpretation thereof,
• Dan 5:6-8 : 6 Then the Kings countenance was changed, and his thoughtes troubled him, so that the ioynts of his loynes were loosed, and his knees smote one against the other. 7 Wherefore the King cryed loude, that they should bring the astrologians, the Caldeans and the soothsayers; the King spake, and sayd to the wise men of Babel, Whosoeuer can reade this writing, and declare me the interpretation thereof, shalbe clothed with purple, and shall haue a chaine of golde about his necke, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdome. 8 Then came all the Kings wise men, but they could neither reade the writing, nor shewe the King the interpretation.
• 1 Cor 1:20-27 : 20 Where is the wise? where is the Scribe? where is the disputer of this worlde? hath not God made the wisedome of this worlde foolishnesse? 21 For seeing the worlde by wisedome knewe not God in the wisedome of GOD, it pleased God by the foolishnesse of preaching to saue them that beleeue: 22 Seeing also that the Iewes require a signe, and the Grecians seeke after wisdome. 23 But wee preach Christ crucified: vnto the Iewes, euen a stumbling blocke, and vnto the Grecians, foolishnesse: 24 But vnto them which are called, both of the Iewes and Grecians, we preach Christ, the power of God, and the wisedome of God. 25 For the foolishnesse of God is wiser then men, and the weakenesse of God is stronger then men. 26 For brethren, you see your calling, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. 27 But God hath chosen the foolish thinges of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weake thinges of the worlde, to confound the mightie things,
• 1 Cor 3:19-20 : 19 For the wisdome of this worlde is foolishnesse with God: for it is written, He catcheth the wise in their owne craftinesse. 20 And againe, The Lord knoweth that the thoughtes of the wise be vaine.
• 2 Sam 16:23 : 23 And the counsell of Ahithophel which he counseled in those dayes, was like as one had asked counsell at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with Dauid and with Absalom.
• 2 Sam 17:23 : 23 Nowe when Ahithophel sawe that his counsell was not followed, he sadled his asse, and arose, and he went home vnto his citie, and put his houshold in order, & hanged him selfe, and dyed, and was buryed in his fathers graue.
• 1 Kgs 22:11-12 : 11 And Zidkiiah the sonne of Chenaanah made him hornes of yron, and sayd, Thus sayth the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Aramites, vntill thou hast consumed them. 12 And all the prophets prophecied so, saying, Goe vp to Ramoth Gilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliuer it into the Kings hand.
• 1 Kgs 22:22-25 : 22 And he sayd, I will goe out, and be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. Then he sayd, Thou shalt entise him, and shalt also preuayle: goe forth, and doe so. 23 Now therefore behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirite in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath appoynted euill against thee. 24 Then Zidkiiah the sonne of Chenaanah came neere, and smote Michaiah on the cheeke and sayd, When went the Spirite of the Lord from me, to speake vnto thee? 25 And Michaiah saide, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt goe from chamber to chamber to hide thee.
• 1 Kgs 22:37 : 37 So the King died, and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the King in Samaria.
• 2 Chr 18:11 : 11 And all the Prophets prophesied so, saying, Go vp to Ramoth Gilead, & prosper: for the Lord shall deliuer it into the hand of the King.
• 2 Chr 18:34 : 34 And the battel increased that day: and the King of Israel stood still in his charet against the Aramites vntil euen, and dyed at the time of the sunne going downe.