For the sake of My name I will delay My wrath; for the sake of My praise I will restrain it, so that you will not be cut off.
Parallel translations
- WEB For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger, and for my praise I hold it back for you, so that I don’t cut you off.
- KJV For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
- NKJV “ForMy name’s sake I will defer My anger, And for My praise I will restrain it from you, So that I do not cut you off.
- NASB “For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, And for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off.
- NLT Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out.
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 name's sake God restrains his anger and does not cut off his people. He spares them by grace, not their merit.
Overview
God defers his deserved wrath 'for my name's sake' and 'for my praise,' refusing to destroy a people who deserve it. Their preservation rests on his commitment to his own glory and covenant, not their worthiness. This grace anticipates the gospel, where God saves the undeserving to the praise of his glory in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Ps 79:9Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and atone for our sins, for the sake of Your name.
- Ps 106:8Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known.
- Ps 78:38And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
- Isa 37:35‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
- Ps 143:11For the sake of Your name, O LORD, revive me. In Your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble.
- 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.”
- 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 48:11For 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.
- Isa 30:18Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ps 103:8–10The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
- Isa 43:25I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Dan 9:17–19So now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary.
- 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.
- Ps 25:11For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great.
- 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.
- Josh 7:9When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
- Neh 9:30–31You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.
- Prov 19:11A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.
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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 48:9 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.