Isaiah 43:13
in Isaiah 43Even from eternity I am He, and none can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yea, since the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who can hinder it?
KJV
Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
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This verse in Isaiah 43
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"I will act, and who will hinder it?" For I have accomplished the calling of the nations, he says, that is, I have saved those who were led astray. And who can alter this, or who could change things so that they did not happen? The Savior himself assures us that no one can snatch those who are being saved from the hand of God. "For my sheep hear my voice, and I know them; and they follow me, and I give them eternal life."
This site's exposition
I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed
on Isaiah 43:12-13
I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed lists three courtroom acts the Lord alone performed, prediction, deliverance and demonstration, when there was no strange god among you to claim any part of it. Verse 12 repeats ye are my witnesses a second time in three verses, the trial's refrain, and verse 13 pushes the claim before time itself, before the day was I am he, an eternity no created rival can share. Alexander reads I will work, and who shall let it as the trial's closing question, daring any power present to obstruct what has already been declared.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(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.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He gives a sign of his power in punishing: and there is none that can deliver out of my hand, as in Deuteronomy 32:39 and Job 10:7; and in working: I will work, above: the Lord of hosts has decreed, and who can disannul it? …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), before the day was (before the first day of time, before the creation of the light, and, consequently, from eternity) I am he. " The idols were but of yesterday, new gods that came newly up ( Deut. xxxii. 17 ); but the God of Israel was from everlasting. (2.) That there was no God formed before me, nor shall be after me.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
"I will work what I have designed, both in mercy and judgment, and who shall either oppose or retard it?" (2.) That the gods of the heathen, who are rivals with him, are not only inferior to him, but no gods at all, which is proved (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Yea, before the day was I am he,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Yea, before the day was - Before the first day, or before the beginning of time; from eternity. The Septuagint renders it correctly, Ἀπ ̓ ἀρχης Ap' archēs, and the Vulgate (Ab initio), ‘From the beginning.’ I am he - I am the same Isa 43:10. I will work - I will accomplish my designs. And who shall let it? - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘Turn it back.’ The meaning is, ‘Who can hinder it?’ And the doctrine taught here is: 1. That God is from everlasting, for if he was before time, he must have been eternal.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Even before the day I am He Not only that day was I alone, but even before it became day I am He alone.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Because of you, I sent [you] to Babylon Jonathan paraphrases: Because of your sins I exiled you to Babylon.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| מִיּוֹם֙ | miyom | from a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| ה֔וּא | hu' | [am] he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מִיָּדִ֖י | miyadi | from hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מַצִּ֑יל | matzil | [is] a deliverer | H5337 → | 212 times |
| אֶפְעַ֖ל | ʾefal | I act | H6466 → | 57 times |
| וּמִ֥י | umi | and who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יְשִׁיבֶֽנָּה׃ ס | yeshivenah | will he revoke it | H7725 → | 1056 times |
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
מִיּוֹם֙from a day
miyomH3117 →2304 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
ה֔וּא[am] he
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מִיָּדִ֖יfrom hand my
miyadiH3027 →1618 times
מַצִּ֑יל[is] a deliverer
matzilH5337 →212 times
אֶפְעַ֖לI act
ʾefalH6466 →57 times
וּמִ֥יand who?
umiH4310 →423 times
יְשִׁיבֶֽנָּה׃ סwill he revoke it
yeshivenahH7725 →1056 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
Hebrews 13:8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:6
Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Malachi 3:6
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
- Hebrews 1:12
You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed; but You remain the same, and Your years will never end.”
- Isaiah 44:6
Through
Isaiah 46:10I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 21:30
There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 33:11
The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.
- Proverbs 19:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 4:1.43:11-13; 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.