For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
Parallel translations
- WEB For Yahweh who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and didn’t create it a waste, who formed it to be inhabited says: “I am Yahweh; and there is no other.
- BSB For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.
- NKJV For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
- NASB For this is what the Lord says, He who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it as a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited): “I am the Lord, and there is no one else.
- NLT For the Lord is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the Lord,” he says, “and there is no other.
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
The God who created the earth to be inhabited, not a waste, declares there is no other God. Creation reveals his good purpose.
Overview
Yahweh, the Creator who formed the earth deliberately for habitation rather than chaos, again insists he alone is God. His creative intent was order and fruitfulness, not emptiness. This affirms both his exclusive deity and his benevolent design, the same God who in Christ is making all things new.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 115:16The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
- Jer 10:12He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
- Isa 42:5Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
- Isa 45:12I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
- Gen 1:2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
- Ezek 36:10–12And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
- Gen 1:26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
- Gen 9:1And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
- Gen 1:28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
- Jer 51:15He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
- Isa 45:5–6I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
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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 45:18 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.