Isaiah 45:18
in Isaiah 45For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah; and there is none else.
KJV
For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.
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This verse in Isaiah 45
Commentary
13 notes on this verse(Vers. 18 seqq.) Because this is what the Lord says, the one who created the heavens, the one who formed the earth and made it, the one who established it; he did not create it in vain, but formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a dark place on the earth. I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I am the Lord, speaking truth, declaring what is right.
This site's exposition
He did not create it to be empty
on Isaiah 45:18-19
“He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited” gives creation a stated purpose. The refrain returns, “I am the LORD, and there is no other”. Verse 19 adds that the claim was never hidden, “I have not spoken in secret”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(Vers. 18) Because this is what the Lord says, the one who created the heavens, the one who formed the earth and made it, the one who established it; he did not create it in vain, but formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other. LXX: Thus says the Lord who made the heavens: this is the God who revealed the earth and made it, he prepared it: he did not make it empty, but formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other. He calls Egypt, and Ethiopia, and the Sabaeans with their exalted men, through whom the salvation of all barbarian nations and the conversion of the whole world to God is shown, God shows His justice; so that the Lord is not only of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles. For He is the maker of heaven and earth equally the God of all, and He created the earth for no other reason than that it should be the habitation of mankind who would worship and understand their Creator, and despise all idols.
For in reality God did not establish the universe in vain or to no purpose but destruction, as those weak-minded people say, but to exist and be inhabited and continue. Therefore the earth and the heaven must exist again after the conflagration and shaking of all things.
For it says, "thus says the Lord" and not simply an earthly "lord," for there are many in heaven and earth that ruin this name [the Lord] by overusing it. But he is the one who by nature and in truth is just—he is what he is said to be and derives no false glory from what he has ordained.… For if he who made heaven and earth did not make it in vain but to be inhabited, … then who else other than him can be considered God?
For the very Prophet through whom the retrogression of the sun was effected, when, by means of the dread sign, he had in reality confuted the theory of the Babylonians, by showing that the heaven is not a revolving sphere, and that they held an …
The Medieval Church1 voice
866. For thus says the Lord. Here he sets out the other utility as to the conversion of the gentiles. And concerning this he does three things. First, he introduces five reasons leading to conversion, the first of which is taken from the creation of …
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And here, as in many other parts of this prophecy, there is much of Christ and of gospel grace. Prophecies Concerning Cyrus. 1 Thus saith the L ORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:39w-of-66
For thus saith the Lord, that created the heavens,....
He here mentions the creation of the heavens, but enlarges more upon that of the earth, because that is the part of the creation which we have the nearest view of and are most conversant with. It is here observed, (1.) That he formed it.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
(See on Isa 45:12). not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited--Therefore, Judah, lying waste during the Babylonish captivity, shall be peopled again by the exiles. The Jews, from this passage, infer that, after the resurrection, the earth shall be inhabited, for there can be no reason why the earth should then exist in vain any more than now (2Pe 3:13).
He formed it to be inhabited “For he formed it to be inhabited” - An ancient MS. has כי ki before לשבת lashebeth; and so the ancient Versions.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For thus saith the Lord - This verse is designed to induce them to put uuwavering confidence in the true God. For this purpose, the prophet enumerates the great things which God had done in proof that he alone was A mighty, and was worthy of trust. He hath established it - That is, the earth. The language here is derived from the supposition that the earth is laid upon a foundation, and is made firm. The Septuagint renders this, ‘God who displayed the earth to view, and who, having made it, divided it (διώρισεν αὐτὴν diōrisen autēn) that is, parcelled it out to be inhabited. This accords well with the scope of the passage. He created it not in vain - He did not form it to remain a vast desert without inhabitants. He formed it to be inhabited - By man, and the various tribes of animals. He makes it a convenient habitation for them; adapts its climates, its soil, and its productions, to their nature; and makes it yield abundance for their support. The main idea, I think, in the statement of this general truth, is, that God designed that the earth at large should be inhabited; and that, therefore, he intended that Judea - thru lying waste while the captives were in Babylon - should be re-populated, and again become the happy abode of the returning exiles. So Grotius interprets it. The Jews, from this passage, infer, that the earth shall be inhabited after the resurrection - an idea which has every probability, since there will not be fewer reasons why the earth shall be inhabited then than there are now; nor can there be any reasons why the earth should then exist in vain anymore than now. And there is none else - (See the note at Isa 45:6).
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כֹ֣ה | khoh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָֽמַר־ | ʾamar- | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְ֠הוָה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בּוֹרֵ֨א | bore' | [who] created | H1254 → | 55 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֜יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים | haelohim | [is] <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יֹצֵ֨ר | yotzer | [who] formed | H3335 → | 62 times |
| הָאָ֤רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְעֹשָׂהּ֙ | veosah | and [who] made it | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כֽוֹנְנָ֔הּ | khonah | he established it | H3559 → | 217 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹ֥הוּ | tohu | a wasteland | H8414 → | 20 times |
| בְרָאָ֖הּ | veraah | he created it | H1254 → | 55 times |
| לָשֶׁ֣בֶת | lashevet | to dwell in | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יְצָרָ֑הּ | yetzarah | he formed it | H3335 → | 62 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| עֽוֹד׃ | od | [is] yet | H5750 → | 490 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
כֹ֣הthus
khohH3541 →577 times
אָֽמַר־he says
ʾamar-H559 →5305 times
יְ֠הוָהYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בּוֹרֵ֨א[who] created
bore'H1254 →55 times
הַשָּׁמַ֜יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים[is] <the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
יֹצֵ֨ר[who] formed
yotzerH3335 →62 times
הָאָ֤רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְעֹשָׂהּ֙and [who] made it
veosahH6213 →2628 times
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
כֽוֹנְנָ֔הּhe established it
khonahH3559 →217 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֹ֥הוּa wasteland
tohuH8414 →20 times
בְרָאָ֖הּhe created it
veraahH1254 →55 times
לָשֶׁ֣בֶתto dwell in
lashevetH3427 →1079 times
יְצָרָ֑הּhe formed it
yetzarahH3335 →62 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֖ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
עֽוֹד׃[is] yet
odH5750 →490 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 42:5This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to…
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:22
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 45:12
It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.
- Jeremiah 10:12
The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
- Zechariah 12:1
This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man…
- Isaiah 40:22
Through
Genesis 1:2Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:23
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.
- Psalms 104:30
When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.
- Psalms 33:6
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
- Job 26:7
He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth upon nothing.
- Jeremiah 4:23
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Creation34 verses
On this page
Studies5
About Isaiah
This page draws on 11 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); Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 8; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 4:3.45:18-19; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Methodius of Olympus, ON THE RESURRECTION 1:8 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.