For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act; for how can I let Myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another.
Parallel translations
- WEB For my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it; for how would my name be profaned? I will not give my glory to another.
- KJV For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
- NKJV For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.
- NASB “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.
- NLT I will rescue you for my sake— yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols!
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
For his own sake God acts to deliver, refusing to let his name be profaned or give his glory to another. God saves for the sake of his glory.
Overview
With emphatic repetition, God declares he acts to redeem 'for my own sake,' so his name is not dishonored and his glory not surrendered to idols. The ultimate ground of salvation is God's zeal for his own glory. This God-centered motive crowns the gospel, in which our salvation magnifies his grace and glory in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Isa 42:8I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.
- Ezek 20:9But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
- Isa 37:35‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
- Ezek 20:14But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
- 1 Sam 12:22Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.
- Ezek 20:22But I withheld My hand and acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
- Isa 43:25I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Jer 14:7Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.
- Ezek 20:44Then you will know, O house of Israel, that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for the sake of My name and not according to your wicked ways and corrupt acts, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Num 14:15–16If You kill this people as one man, the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,
- Ezek 20:39And as for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you. But afterward, you will surely listen to Me, and you will no longer defile My holy name with your gifts and idols.
- Deut 32:26–27I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,
- Rom 2:24As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
- Isa 52:5And now what have I here? declares the LORD. For My people have been taken without cause; those who rule them taunt, declares the LORD, and My name is blasphemed continually all day long.
- Isa 48:5Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’
- John 5:23so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 48:11 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.