Isaiah 48:15 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 48:15 mean?

In Isaiah 48:15, God tells the people of Israel that the man who will act against Babylon has been chosen and brought forward by God. The verse presents that man’s success as the result of God’s direction, not simply his own skill.

The repeated “I, even I” makes the speaker’s role emphatic. After the description of the man’s task in verse 14, the phrases “spoken,” “called,” and “brought” trace God’s involvement from announcing the action to bringing the man onto the scene.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 48:15

• “called” — קָרָא (qara): The word can mean to call, summon, or name. Here it carries the sense of God summoning someone for a task.
• “brought” — בּוֹא (boʾ): The word often means to come or go; in the form used here, it can mean to bring someone in. The wording pictures God bringing the chosen man into the situation.
• “prosperous” — צָלַח (tsalach): The word can carry the sense of succeeding or making progress. “His way” pictures the man’s course of action, rather than only a road he travels.

Why Isaiah 48:15 matters

• The surrounding passage identifies the man as Cyrus, the Persian ruler named in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1. Isaiah 48:14 connects his work with Babylon, where many Israelites had been taken away from their homeland.
• The verse points toward a return from Babylon. Later, Isaiah 48:20 tells the people to leave Babylon, showing why the man’s success matters to those addressed.
• The KJV says “he shall make his way prosperous.” In the verse’s setting, the successful “way” is the course of action God has called the man to carry out.