¶“Remember these things, Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Remember these things, Jacob and Israel; for you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my servant. Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
- KJV Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
- BSB Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are My servant, O Israel. I have made you, and you are My servant; O Israel, I will never forget you.
- NKJV “Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!
- NLT “Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget you.
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 tells Jacob to remember that he is God's servant, formed by Him and never to be forgotten. It reassures the people of their secure place in God's care.
Overview
Against the futility of idols, God reminds Israel of their identity as His servant. He formed them and pledges never to forget them. This covenant faithfulness, that God will not forget His own, is fulfilled in Christ, who holds His servants securely and forever.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Isa 44:1–2Yet listen now, Jacob my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen.
- Isa 49:15–16“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you!
- Zech 10:9I will sow them among the peoples; and they will remember me in far countries; and they will live with their children, and will return.
- Isa 43:15I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”
- Isa 46:8–9“Remember this, and show yourselves men. Bring it to mind again, you transgressors.
- Isa 43:1But now Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel says: “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine.
- Rom 11:28–29Concerning the Good News, they are enemies for your sake. But concerning the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake.
- Deut 4:23Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves an engraved image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you.
- Deut 32:18Of the Rock who became your father, you are unmindful, and have forgotten God who gave you birth.
- Isa 42:23Who is there among you who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
- Isa 43:7everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.’”
- Isa 41:8–9“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend,
- Deut 31:19–21“Now therefore write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.
- Deut 4:9Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children’s children;
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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 44:21 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.