Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 44:25

"that frustrateth the signs of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;" — Isaiah 44:25 (ASV)

That frustrates — Hebrew, ‘Breaking’: that is, destroying, making vain. The idea is that what necromancers and diviners relied on as certain proof that their predictions would be fulfilled, God makes vain and ineffective. The event they predicted did not occur, and He rendered vain all their alleged proofs that they were endowed with divine or miraculous power.

The tokens — Hebrew, אתות 'othôth — ‘Signs.’ This word is usually applied to miracles, or to signs of 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 Isaiah 7:2.

The liars — Deceivers, boasters—meaning conjurers, or false prophets (see also the note at Isaiah 16:6).

And makes 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 turns wise men backward — Lowth renders this, ‘Who reverses 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 to perform what one promised, one turns away one’s face (see 1 Kings 2:16, margin).

The ‘wise men’ here denote the sages, the diviners, and the soothsayers. 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 makes their knowledge foolish — He makes them appear to be fools. It is well known that soothsayers and diviners abounded in the East. It is also probable 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. However, the result would show that they were utterly incapable of predicting a future event. The whole passage here refers to the taking of Babylon by Cyrus and should be interpreted accordingly.