Isaiah 43:12
in Isaiah 43I alone decreed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I have declared, and I have saved, and I have showed; and there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and I am God.
KJV
I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.
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This verse in Isaiah 43
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verses 12-13) I have declared and saved; I have made known, and there was no strange one among you. You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and I am God, and from the beginning I am myself, and there is no one who can rescue from my hand. I will work, and who can turn it aside? LXX: I have declared and saved: I have rebuked and there was no stranger among you. You are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God from the beginning, and there is no one who can deliver from my hand.
This site's exposition
I alone decreed and saved and proclaimed
on Isaiah 43:12-13
I alone decreed and saved and proclaimed lists three acts the LORD alone performed, with no foreign god among Israel to claim a part. Verse 13 carries the claim before time, Even from eternity I am He. The closing question dares any power, When I act, who can reverse it?
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
I not only made the predictions; I have also brought them to their conclusion. "I reproached, and then there was no strange god among you." The three interpreters have rendered the word "I have reproached" by the verb "I have made to understand," which comes …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he gives a sign of his divinity: I have declared, there was no strange one among you, by which you could know: O Israel, if you will hearken to me, there shall be no new god in you: neither shall you adore a strange …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
I believed, therefore have I spoken. Particularly, "Since you cannot but know, and believe, and understand, you must be ready to bear record, (1.) That I am he, the only true God, that I am a being self-existent and self-sufficient; I am he whom you are to fear, and worship, and trust in.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
I showed when there was no strange god among you, that is, when you pretended not to consult any oracles but mine, nor to have any prophets but mine." It is said, when they came out of Egypt, that the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. [2.] He has an infinite and irresistible power, as is evident from the performances of his providence.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
I have declared, and I have saved, and I have showed,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
declared--predicted the future (Isa 41:22, 23). saved--the nation, in past times of danger. showed--namely, that I was God. when . . . no strange god, &c.--to whom the predictions uttered by Me could be assigned. "Strange" means foreign, introduced from abroad.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
I have declared, and have saved - My prophets have always predicted your deliverances before they took place; and I have fulfilled their words to the uttermost.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I have declared - I have announced or predicted future events; I have warned of danger; I have marked out the path of safety. He had thus shown that he was the true God (see the note at Isa 41:22-23). And have saved - I have delivered the nation in former times of danger, and have thus shown that I would protect them. And have showed - Hebrew, ‘Caused to hear.’ I have made known future events, and have thus showed that I was God. When there was no strange god among you - Before the time when there was any idol in the nation, and when, therefore, it could not be pretended that deliverance was to be traced to anyone but to Yahweh. The word ‘god’ here is not in the original, but is properly supplied. The word זר zâr is evidently used instead of זר אל 'êl zâr, as in Psa 44:20; Psa 81:9. It denotes a god that is worshipped by foreigners. The sense is, that their former deliverance could in no sense be traced to any such foreign god. Therefore, ye are my witnesses - You who have so often been defended; you who have the predictions respecting future events, can be appealed to as evidence that I am the only true God, able to deliver. The doctrine taught in this passage is, that God may appeal to his dealings with his people as a demonstration that he is the true God, and that he is faithful and able to deliver - an appeal which may be made to his church at large in view of its trials, persecutions, and deliverances; and to every one who is his true friend and worshipper.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Even before the day I am He Not only that day was I alone, but even before it became day I am He alone.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָנֹכִ֞י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| הִגַּ֤דְתִּי | higadti | I have declared | H5046 → | 370 times |
| וְהוֹשַׁ֙עְתִּי֙ | vehosha'ti | and I have saved | H3467 → | 206 times |
| וְהִשְׁמַ֔עְתִּי | vehishma'ti | and I have proclaimed | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בָּכֶ֖ם | bakhem | among you | ||
| זָ֑ר | zar | [was] a strange [god] | H2114 → | 77 times |
| וְאַתֶּ֥ם | veatem | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| עֵדַ֛י | ʾedai | [are] witnesses my | H5707 → | 70 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַֽאֲנִי־ | vaani- | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֵֽל׃ | ʾel | [am] God | H410 → | 241 times |
אָנֹכִ֞יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
הִגַּ֤דְתִּיI have declared
higadtiH5046 →370 times
וְהוֹשַׁ֙עְתִּי֙and I have saved
vehosha'tiH3467 →206 times
וְהִשְׁמַ֔עְתִּיand I have proclaimed
vehishma'tiH8085 →1159 times
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
בָּכֶ֖םamong you
bakhem
זָ֑ר[was] a strange [god]
zarH2114 →77 times
וְאַתֶּ֥םand you
veatemH859 →1094 times
עֵדַ֛י[are] witnesses my
ʾedaiH5707 →70 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַֽאֲנִי־and I
vaani-H589 →874 times
אֵֽל׃[am] God
ʾelH410 →241 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 43:10“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed,…
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:4
Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—the first and the last—I am He.”
- Isaiah 45:6
so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
- Isaiah 46:8–9
Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors!
- Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
- Isaiah 40:21–22
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?
- Isaiah 41:4
Through
Isaiah 44:8Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 43:10
“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed,…
- 1 Samuel 2:2
There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
- Deuteronomy 4:35
You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.
- Isaiah 43:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Joseph Addison Alexander, Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.12 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.