Isaiah 44:25

Isa 44:25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise [men] backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;

Ver. 25. That frustrateth the tokens of the liars.] Their false prognostics of the long lastingness of the Babylonian empire, and therefore no likelihood of the Jews’ enlargement.

And maketh diviners mad.] Diviners, the Latins call soothsayers and such fellows, by a term that is altogether too good for them. Quum sint potius diabolici, saith Piscator, since they are rather devils incarnate than divines. By a like form of speech Alsted {a} said of his Germans, that if the Sabbath day should be named according to their observing of it, Daemoniacus potius quam Dominicus diceretur.

That turneth wise men backward.] The world’s wizards, who approved of that which the diviners affirmed, judging according to outward appearance, &c.

{a} In Encyclop.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

44:25 False prophets and fortune-tellers used forbidden forms of divination to try to predict the future. Eventually God would expose them as deluded liars (see 3:2; 9:15; 47:13; Deut 18:10-11).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He armeth them against the soothsayers of Babylon, which would have borne them in hand, that they knew by the stars, that God would not deliver them, and that Babylon should stand.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

tokens--prognostics; the pretended miracles whiten they gave as proofs of their supernatural powers.

liars-- (Jer 50:36). Conjurers; or, astrologers; men leading a retired contemplative life in order to study divination by the signs of the stars [VITRINGA].

backward--with shame at their predictions not being verified. "To turn away the face" is to frustrate defeat (Isa 36:9; Kg1 2:15). The "wise men" are the diviners who, when Babylon was attacked by Cyrus, predicted his overthrow.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(25) That frustrateth the tokens of the liars.—Better, of the praters—i.e., the false prophets of Babylon. It is implied that they, after the manner of the false seers of Judah (Jer_23:16-17), predicted for the kings of Babylon a time of prosperity and peace.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25, 26. The overthrow of heathen soothsaying and the establishment of true prophecy as it existed in Israel.

the tokens of the liars] Or, the signs of the praters (cf. Jer_50:36, and See on ch. Isa_16:6 where the word means “pratings”). The “signs” (see Deu_13:1 f.) referred to are the omens on which the diviners based their forecasts of the future. How much reliance was placed on these prognostications by the Babylonians will be seen from ch. 47.

diviners] See on ch. Isa_3:2.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That frustrateth the tokens of the liars,.... Struck dumb the oracles of the Heathens, disappointed their lying priests, and made void all the signs and tokens they gave the people, that such and such things would come to pass, which did not, and which proved them to be liars:

and maketh diviners mad; soothsayers, astrologers, and such sort of persons, who pretended to foretell future events; but these not answering to their predictions, they became mad, because their credit was ruined, and they lost their reward:

that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolishness; the wise philosophers among the Gentiles, and their schemes of philosophy, which were confounded and destroyed, and proved foolish, through the ministration of the Gospel, Co1 1:20.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That frustrateth - Hebrew, ‘Breaking:’ that is, destroying, rendering vain. The idea is, that that which necromancers and diviners relied on as certain demonstration that what they predicted would be fulfilled, God makes vain and inefficacious. The event which they predicted did not follow, and all their alleged proofs that they were endowed with divine or miraculous power he rendered vain.

The tokens - Hebrew, אתות 'othôth - ‘Signs.’ This word is usually applied to miracles, or to signs of the divine interposition and presence. Here it means the things on which diviners and soothsayers relied; the tricks of cunning and sleight-of-hand which they adduced as miracles, or as demonstrations that they were under a divine influence. See the word more fully explained in the notes at Isa 7:2.

The liars - Deceivers, boasters - meaning conjurers, or false prophets (compare Jer 50:36; see also the note at Isa 16:6).

And maketh diviners mad - That is, makes them foolish, or deprives them of wisdom. They pretend to foretell future events, but the event does not correspond with the prediction. God orders it otherwise, and thus they are shown to be foolish, or unwise.

That turneth wise men backward - Lowth renders this, ‘Who reverseth the devices of the sages.’ The sense is, he puts them to shame. The idea seems to be derived from the fact that when one is ashamed, or disappointed, or fails of performing what he promised, he turns away his face (see 1Ki 2:16, margin) The ‘wise men,’ here denote the sages; the diviners, the soothsayers; and the sense is, that they were not able to predict future events, and that when their prediction failed, they would be suffused with shame.

And maketh their knowledge foolish - He makes them appear to be fools. It is well known that soothsayers and diviners abounded in the East; and it is not improbable that the prophet here means that when Babylon was attacked by Cyrus, the diviners and soothsayers would predict his defeat, and the overthrow of his army, but that the result would show that they were utterly incapable of predicting a future event. The whole passage here has reference to the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, and should be interpreted accordingly.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Mad. That people may be no longer deluded.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

That frustrateth the tokens of the liars; of the magicians, and astrologers, and sorcerers, who were numerous, and greatly employed and esteemed in Babylon, Isa 47:12,13; Da 2:2,48, and who had foretold the long continuance and prosperity of the Chaldean empire. But, saith God, I will confute their tokens or predictions, and prove them to be liars.

And maketh diviners mad with grief for the disappointment of their hopes and predictions, and their disgrace and loss which followed it.

That turneth wise men backward; stopping their way, thwarting and blasting their designs, so as they can proceed no further, but are forced to retreat and take new counsels, and giving them up to such counsels and courses as are foolish and pernicious to themselves.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

That frustrateth the tokens of the liars; i.e. "who brings to nought the prognostications of the astrologers and soothsayers, that pretend falsely to a knowledge of future events"; (see Isa_49:13; and Jer_29:8, Jer_29:9) and maketh diviners mad; i.e. "shows them to be thole or madmen". (see Job_12:17) That turneth wise men backward; i.e. "repulses them puts them to flight." Pretenders to wisdom, rather than truly wise men, are meant.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Liars - Of the magicians, and astrologers, who were numerous, and greatly esteemed in Babylon, and who had foretold the long continuance and prosperity of the Chaldean empire. Mad - With grief for the disappointment of their predictions, and their disgrace which followed it. Turneth - Stopping their way, and blasting their designs.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

“Breaking the signs of babblers, and diviners He will madden; turning sages back, and their knowledge He will stultify.” The whole verse is descriptive of Jehovah as convicting all prophets except His own, of folly and imposture, by falsifying their prognostications. The second noun is commonly translated either lies or liars; but it is rather an expression of contempt, denoting prayers, vain or idle talkers, and by implication utterers of falsehood. Signs are properly the pledges and accompaniments of predictions, but may here be regarded as equivalent to prophecy itself. These are said to be broken in the same sense that breaking may be predicated of a promise or a covenant. The effect of course would be to make such prophets seem like fools or madmen. (See 2Sa 15:31; Hos 9:7). The restriction of these terms to the false prophets of the Babylonish exile is not only arbitrary, but at variance with the context, which repeatedly contrasts the omnipotence and omniscience of Jehovah with the impotence of idols and the ignorance of heathen prophets. The alternation of the future and participle seems to have a rhythmical design. The distinction may however be, that while the latter signifies habitual or customary action, the former expresses certain futurity and fixed determination.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who stretched forth the heavens alone...Who frustrates the signs of imposters Since I stretched forth the heavens, I can, therefore, frustrate their signs.

imposters Heb. בַּדִּים. They are stargazers, who predict the future through signs of the heavens, and since many times they lie, they are called בַּדִּים, imposters, for I change the heavenly princes, and these who ask of them err, and since the astrologers of Babylon were stargazers, as Scripture states (infra 47:13), “Let them stand now, and let the gazers into the heavens save you.” He, therefore, states that He will frustrate the signs of their imposters, for I am He Who frustrated the signs of the imposters of Egypt.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

בדים Liars. Comp. בדיך thy lies (Job 11:3). More probably בדים is connected with בדד alone, and signifies such, persons as pretend to be able to emancipate their souls from, the influence of the body, which some in reality can do.

וקוסמים And astrologers. Lit., men that decide by reason, and say that and that will happen; while בדים foretell the future not by reasonable means.

Wise men. Persons, who divine from the liver or shoulder, and soothsayers.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.