Limitless Word
But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
Isaiah 43:22 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yet you have not called on me, Jacob; but you have been weary of me, Israel.
  • BSB But you have not called on Me, O Jacob, because you have grown weary of Me, O Israel.
  • NKJV “But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; And you have been weary of Me, O Israel.
  • NASB ¶“Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob; But you have become weary of Me, Israel.
  • NLT “But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help. You have grown tired of me, O Israel!

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

Despite all His goodness, Israel has not called on God but grown weary of Him. It exposes the people's spiritual indifference toward their gracious Redeemer.

Overview

God turns to indictment: His people neglected prayer and tired of His worship. Their weariness reveals a heart cold toward grace. This honest exposure of sin makes the unmerited forgiveness that follows all the more amazing, a forgiveness secured in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Mic 6:3O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.
  • Mal 3:14Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?
  • Mal 1:13Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.
  • Jas 4:2–3Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
  • Jer 10:25Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.
  • Dan 9:13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
  • Hos 7:10–14And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.
  • Hos 14:1–2O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
  • John 6:66–69From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
  • Jer 2:5Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
  • Isa 64:7And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
  • Job 21:14–15Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
  • Job 27:9–10Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?
  • Jer 2:11–13Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
  • Ps 14:4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.
  • Ps 79:6Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.
  • Jer 2:31–32O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 43:22YouTube · 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 43:22 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.