Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 41:12
Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, [even] them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of naught.
Thou shalt seek them – This denotes that it would be impossible to find them, for they should cease to exist. The whole verse, with the verse following, is emphatic, repeating in varied terms what was said before, and meaning that their foes should be entirely destroyed.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them; they shall be so totally consumed, that although thou searchest for them, thou shalt not be able to find them any where in the world.
Shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought; shall be utterly brought to nought. The thing is twice repeated, to show the certainty and greatness of their destruction.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. seek . . . and . . . notfindsaid of one so utterly put out of the way that not a traceof him can be found (Ps 37:36).
thing of naughtshallutterly perish.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ver. 12 Thou shall seek them, and shalt not find them,…. They not existing, or being fled into holes and corners, to rocks and mountains, to hide themselves from the wrath of the Lamb, Re 6:15:
even them that contended with thee; or, “the men of thy contention” p; who contended with them, not by words and arguments, but by severe persecutions, striving thereby to hinder the progress of the Gospel, and to root Christianity out of the world:
they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought: or, “the men of thy war” q; that proclaimed and carried on war against the Christians, in order to destroy them utterly; yet they, and all their efforts, came to nothing, the Gospel prevailed, and Paganism was utterly abolished; which came to pass in Constantine’s time, at the opening of the sixth seal, Re 6:12 which is a proper comment on this text.
p “viros jurgii tui”, Montanus. q “viri belli tui”, Vatablus; “pugnae tuae”, Montanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12. Thou shalt seek them. That is, if thou seek them; for enemies are not sought, when they have been put to flight; and therefore I think that this future ought to be rendered as a subjunctive, “If thou seek them, thou shalt not find them; for they shall be destroyed and reduced to nothing.” Here it ought to be observed that he describes two kinds of enemies, one, of those who attack us by open violence, the other, of those who attack us by words, that is, who tear us by slanders, curses, and reproaches, and who, as if they were defending a righteous cause, carry on various controversies with us, and summon us to courts of justice, and often accuse us of those crimes of which they have been guilty. But these are the stratagems of Satan, and we need not wonder that they who are his servants imitate their lord and master. The Prophet therefore mentions armed enemies who violently fight against the Church, and next brings forward wranglers, who annoy the Church by deceit and slander, and by false pretense of justice. We need not wonder, therefore, that such accusations are directed against us, and we ought not to think it strange, if many unprincipled men in the present day sell themselves to Antichrist to slander us; for the same thing happened formerly to prophets and other servants of God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Isa 41:12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, [even] them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
Ver. 12. Even them that contended with thee. ] Heb., The men of thy contention – thy contendents, such as this eristical age hath more than a good many. By the Quakers’ wild fancies and rude practices we may see how cross-grained these people are in contradicting everything. Many men’s spirits, saith one, today lie like that haven in Act 27:12 , toward the south-west and north-west, two opposite points.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
them that contended = the men (Hebrew. ‘ish) of thy contention.
nothing. See note on Isa 5:8.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
shalt seek: Job 20:7-9, Psa 37:35, Psa 37:36
them that contended with thee: Heb. the men of thy contention. they that war against thee. Heb. the men of thy war.
Reciprocal: Psa 27:3 – war Psa 31:17 – wicked Isa 29:7 – the multitude Isa 49:25 – I will contend Jer 10:24 – lest Jer 30:16 – General Zec 10:5 – because Joh 8:10 – where 1Co 1:28 – to bring
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
41:12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not {l} find them, [even] them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of naught.
(l) Because they will be destroyed.