I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me;
Parallel translations
- KJV I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
- BSB I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
- NKJV I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
- NASB “I am the Lord, and there is no one else; There is no God except Me. I will arm you, though you have not known Me,
- NLT I am the Lord; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don’t even know me,
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
Yahweh alone is God; there is no other. He strengthens Cyrus even though Cyrus does not acknowledge him.
Overview
This verse is one of Isaiah's strongest monotheistic affirmations, set against the polytheism of Babylon and Persia. God arms a king who does not yet know him, underscoring that all power and authority derive from the one true God. The exclusive claim 'there is no God besides me' grounds the New Testament's confession that salvation is found in no one but the God who became flesh in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Isa 44:8Don’t fear, neither be afraid. Haven’t I declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I don’t know any other Rock.”
- Isa 44:6This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
- Isa 46:9Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me.
- Joel 2:27You will know that I am among Israel, and that I am Yahweh, your God, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed.
- 1 Kgs 8:60that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh himself is God. There is no one else.
- Isa 45:21–22Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t I, Yahweh? There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior; There is no one besides me.
- Deut 4:35It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides him.
- Deut 32:39“See now that I myself am he. There is no god with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.
- Isa 45:14–18Yahweh says: “The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains; and they will bow down to you. They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely God is in you; and there is no one else. There is no other god.
- Deut 4:39Know therefore today, and take it to heart, that Yahweh himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no one else.
- Job 12:21He pours contempt on princes, and loosens the belt of the strong.
- Ps 18:39For you have armed me with strength to the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
- Ps 18:32the God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect?
- John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Ezra 1:2“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
- Isa 22:21and I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your belt. I will commit your government into his hand; and he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
- Job 12:18He loosens the bond of kings. He binds their waist with a belt.
- Heb 1:8–9But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 45:5 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.