“I stirred up one from the north.
He has come.
From the rising of the sun,
He was summoned by name.
He shall trample on rulers
Like on mortar,
Like the potter treads clay.
Who declared it from the beginning?
We might know before time.
We might say.
‘He is right!’
There was none
Who declared it.
None who proclaimed it.
None who heard your words.
I first have declared it to Zion.
I give to Jerusalem
A herald of good tidings.
But when I look
There is no one.
Among these,
There is no counselor.
When I ask,
Who gives an answer?
No!
They are all a delusion.
Their works are nothing.
Their images are empty wind.”
Although most interpret this passage as the predicting the victory of King Cyrus of Persia, his name is never explicitly mentioned. He is an invader from the northeast, which could be Persia. Second Isaiah says that he was summoned by name, but no name is mentioned. This invader was going to trample underfoot the rulers, as if they were like mortar or potter’s clay. This was an indication of things to come. No one else is talking about the future. However, Second Isaiah and Yahweh had declared this herald of good tidings in Jerusalem. There was no one with advice, no one to give an answer. Their works were all an empty delusion because all their false image idols were like an empty wind.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 