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I have made Israel for myself, and they will someday honor me before the whole world.
Isaiah 43:21 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB the people which I formed for myself, that they might declare my praise.
  • KJV This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
  • BSB The people I formed for Myself will declare My praise.
  • NKJV This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.
  • NASB “The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.

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 formed His people for Himself so that they would declare His praise. It states the purpose of redemption: a people who glorify God.

Overview

The redeemed exist not for themselves but to proclaim the excellencies of their God. Praise is the fitting response to His saving work. This purpose carries into the New Testament, where the redeemed in Christ are formed to declare the praises of Him who called them out of darkness.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • 1 Pet 2:9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
  • Heb 13:15Through him, then, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name.
  • Ps 102:18This will be written for the generation to come. A people which will be created will praise Yah.
  • 1 Cor 6:19–20Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
  • Luke 1:74–75to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear,
  • 1 Cor 10:31Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
  • Isa 61:3to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified.
  • Col 1:16For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.
  • Isa 60:21Then your people will all be righteous. They will inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
  • Eph 1:5–12having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,
  • Eph 3:21to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
  • Titus 2:14who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.
  • Ps 4:3But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly: Yahweh will hear when I call to him.
  • Isa 50:7For the Lord Yahweh will help me. Therefore I have not been confounded. Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be disappointed.
  • Prov 16:4Yahweh has made everything for its own end — yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 43:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 43:21 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.