John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 41:23

"Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together." — Isaiah 41:23 (ASV)

Do good, or do evil. It must not be supposed that to do evil means, in this passage, to commit injustice, which is contrary to the nature of God; but it means to inflict punishment and to send adversity, which should be ascribed to the providence of God, and not to idols or fortune. In this sense it is very frequently found in Scripture.

Is there evil in a city which the Lord has not done? (Amos 3:6).

Likewise, Jeremiah accuses the people of not acknowledging God to be “the author of good and of evil” (Lamentations 3:38). By “evils” of that kind, therefore, such as wars, pestilence, famine, poverty, disease, and others of the same kind, the Lord punishes the sins of the people, and wishes to be acknowledged as the author of them all. Now, Isaiah does not bring forward all the examples and arguments by which God could be distinguished from idols, for that would have required a very long discourse; but he is at present satisfied with those which would give a short and yet clear demonstration, for he has not yet concluded his argument.