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Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Isaiah 46:10 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please.
  • BSB I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
  • NKJV Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’
  • NASB Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My plan will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
  • NLT Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.

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 declares the end from the beginning; his counsel will stand and he does all he pleases. His sovereign plan cannot be thwarted.

Overview

This is a cornerstone text on divine sovereignty: God announces outcomes in advance because he ordains them, and his purpose will certainly stand. Only the true God knows and governs the future. Such providence assures believers that the redemptive plan accomplished in Christ was settled from eternity and cannot fail.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 24

  • Prov 19:21There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
  • Ps 33:11The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
  • Eph 1:9–11Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
  • Isa 43:13Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
  • Isa 45:21Tell 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.
  • Prov 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
  • Ps 135:6Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
  • Isa 44:7And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
  • Acts 5:39But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
  • Isa 46:11Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
  • Heb 6:17Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
  • Dan 4:35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
  • Acts 4:27–28For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
  • Rom 11:33–34O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
  • Gen 49:10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
  • Num 24:17–24I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
  • Gen 12:2–3And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
  • Acts 15:18Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
  • Deut 4:24–31For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
  • Isa 41:22–23Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.
  • Gen 3:15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
  • Deut 28:15–68But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
  • Gen 49:22–26Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
  • Acts 3:23And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

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 46:10YouTube · 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 46:10 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.