I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Parallel translations
- WEB 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;
- 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 44:8Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
- Isa 44:6Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
- Isa 46:9Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
- Joel 2:27And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
- 1 Kgs 8:60That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.
- Isa 45:21–22Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
- Deut 4:35Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.
- Deut 32:39See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
- Isa 45:14–18Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.
- Deut 4:39Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
- Job 12:21He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
- Ps 18:39For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
- Ps 18:32It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
- John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Ezra 1:2Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
- Isa 22:21And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
- Job 12:18He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
- Heb 1:8–9But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Resources, by level
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.