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?
Parallel translations
- WEB Yes, since the day was I am he; and there is no one who can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who can hinder it?”
- BSB Even from eternity I am He, and none can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”
- NKJV Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?”
- NASB “Even from eternity I am He, And there is no one who can rescue from My hand; I act, and who can reverse it?”
- NLT “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”
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
From eternity God is who He is, and no one can deliver from His hand or undo His work. It proclaims God's eternal sovereignty and unstoppable purpose.
Overview
God's existence and power are not bound by time; He is the unchanging 'I am he.' No power can rescue from His judgment or thwart His saving will. This sovereign assurance comforts His people and finds its echo in Christ, from whose hand no one can snatch His own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 26
- Isa 14:27For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
- Isa 46:10Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
- Ps 90:2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
- Heb 13:8Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
- John 8:58Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
- 1 Tim 1:17Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- Job 9:12Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?
- Deut 32:39See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
- Rev 1:8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
- Isa 41:4Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
- Isa 57:15For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
- Ps 93:2Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
- Ps 50:22Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
- Mic 5:2But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
- Prov 8:23I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
- Hab 1:12Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
- Job 34:29When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
- Eph 1:11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
- Deut 28:31Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.
- Prov 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
- Job 34:14–15If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
- Dan 4:35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
- John 1:1–2In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Rom 9:18–19Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
- Hos 5:14For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
- Hos 2:10And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 43:13 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.