Isaiah 43: Ye Are My Witnesses
Through water and fire, I am he, and a new thing in the wilderness
"But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob… Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned" (43:1–2).
"Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour" (vv. 10–11).
"Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters… Remember ye not the former things… Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" (vv. 16–19). "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake" (v. 25).
| Verses | What it says | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| 43:1–2 | Created, formed, redeemed, called by name: through waters and fire you will not be overwhelmed | Exodus and furnace imagery (compare Daniel 3). |
| 43:3–7 | Egypt, Cush and Seba as your ransom; you are precious; I will gather your offspring from east, west, north, south | Seba: probably in Nubia or Arabia. |
| 43:8–13 | Bring out the blind with eyes; the nations' witnesses? You are my witnesses; no god formed before me or after; I alone save | Monotheism stated as a courtroom verdict. |
| 43:14–15 | For your sake I sent to Babylon and brought down the Chaldeans in their ships | The first mention of Babylon by name in 40–48. |
| 43:16–21 | Who made a way in the sea and quenched the chariots: forget the former things; I am doing a new thing: a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert | The new exodus. |
| 43:22–24 | You did not call on me; you did not weary yourself with sacrifices; you wearied me with your sins | A reversal: Israel made God serve. |
| 43:25–28 | I blot out your transgressions for my own sake; your first father sinned; so I gave Jacob to destruction | First father: Jacob? Abraham? Adam? |
Gathering the exiles
Judeans were scattered in the 6th century: in Babylonia (the Al-Yahudu tablets, from 572 BC on, record a village of Judeans near Nippur; reported), in Egypt (Jeremiah 43–44; Elephantine), and elsewhere. Isaiah's "bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth" (43:6) speaks to that dispersion. Many exiles stayed where they were: the Babylonian Jewish community lasted for 2,500 years.
Monotheism in Isaiah 43–46
"Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me" (43:10); "beside me there is no God" (44:6); "I am the LORD, and there is none else" (45:5–6, 18, 21–22; 46:9). These are among the clearest statements in the Hebrew Bible that only one God exists, as opposed to the earlier language of the LORD as greatest among the gods (Exodus 15:11; Psalm 82). Scholars debate how Israel's faith developed; all agree that Isaiah 40–48 states exclusive monotheism with unusual force.
"Ye are my witnesses"
The Greek reads "that you may know and believe and understand that I am (egō eimi)" (43:10), wording close to John 13:19 ("that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he"). In 1931 the Bible Students movement took the name Jehovah's Witnesses from this verse. Both are later uses of the text.
What the evidence shows
- Isaiah 43:10 states that no god was formed before or after the LORD.
- The Al-Yahudu tablets document Judeans living in Babylonia in the 6th century BC. Reported.
- The name "Jehovah's Witnesses" comes from Isaiah 43:10. Adopted in 1931; reported.
Continue the journey
Journey of a PassageIsaiah 43:10–13: "Ye are my witnesses… that I am he""Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord… that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me." The Hebrew ani hu ("I am he") is rendered in the Greek as egō eimi, "I am"; John 13:19 has Jesus say "that ye may believe that I am he" in nearly the same Greek words.More from this lesson
Why this matters to the rest of Scripture
- A way through the sea.
- "That ye may believe that I am he."
- Isaiah 44:6–8; 45:5–7None beside me.
- "Who can forgive sins but God only?"