For I am the LORD your God who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
Parallel translations
- WEB For I am Yahweh your God, who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar: Yahweh of Armies is his name.
- KJV But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.
- NKJV But I am the Lord your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared— The Lord of hosts is His name.
- NASB For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar (the Lord of armies is His name).
- NLT For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
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 identifies Himself as the LORD who stirs the roaring sea, the LORD of Armies, the one with power to save.
Overview
God grounds His promises in His own name and power, the one who controls the raging sea and commands the hosts of heaven. His sovereignty guarantees His word. The same divine authority over the sea is displayed by Christ, who stills the storm (Mark 4:39), confirming that the LORD of Armies is mighty to deliver.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Jer 31:35Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:
- Isa 54:5For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
- Amos 9:5–6The Lord GOD of Hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, and all its dwellers mourn—all the land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt—
- Isa 47:4Our Redeemer—the LORD of Hosts is His name—is the Holy One of Israel.
- Ps 74:13You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;
- Isa 51:10Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over?
- Ps 136:13He divided the Red Sea in two His loving devotion endures forever.
- Ps 114:3–5The sea observed and fled; the Jordan turned back;
- Jer 10:16The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
- Isa 48:2who indeed call yourselves after the holy city and lean on the God of Israel; the LORD of Hosts is His name.
- Job 26:12By His power He stirred the sea; by His understanding He shattered Rahab.
- Neh 9:11You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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 51:15 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.