“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, and after Me none will come.
Parallel translations
- WEB “You are my witnesses,” says Yahweh, “With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.
- KJV Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
- NKJV “Youare My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.
- NASB “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.
- NLT “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God— there never has been, and there never will be.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God names Israel His chosen witnesses and servant, that they may know and believe that He alone is God, with none before or after Him. It affirms the LORD's absolute and eternal uniqueness.
Overview
God's people are called to testify that He alone is the everlasting God. The purpose is that they would know, believe, and understand His sole deity. This monotheistic confession, that no God was formed before or will come after Him, undergirds the New Testament revelation of the one God in Father, Son, and Spirit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Isa 41:4Who 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.”
- Isa 45:6so 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.
- Isa 46:8–9Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors!
- Isa 43:12I 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.
- Isa 40:21–22Do 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?
- Acts 1:8But 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.”
- Isa 44:6–8Thus 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.
- Phil 2:7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
- Isa 42:1“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
- Isa 41:20so that all may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
- Rev 1:2who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
- John 15:27And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
- John 1:7–8He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe.
- Isa 41:8“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend—
- John 20:31But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
- 1 Cor 15:15In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead, but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.
- Rev 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
- Rev 3:14To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.
- Isa 55:4Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the peoples.
- Col 1:7You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 43:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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