Passage

Isaiah 46.9

Book: Isaiah · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

7. They bear it upon the shoulder, they carry it, and set it in its place, and it standeth, from its place shall it not remove: yea, one may cry unto it, yet can it not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. 8. Remember this, and show yourselves men; bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.

9. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me;

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; 11. calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:7-11, ASV)

WEB

7. They bear it on their shoulder. They carry it, and set it in its place, and it stands there. It cannot move from its place. Yes, one may cry to it, yet it can not answer. It cannot save him out of his trouble. 8. “Remember this, and show yourselves men. Bring it to mind again, you transgressors.

9. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me.

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. 11. I call a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yes, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have planned. I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:7-11, WEB)

KJV

7. They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. 8. Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.

9. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

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: 11. Calling 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. ^{that: Heb. of my counsel} (Isaiah 46:7-11, KJV)

YLT

7. They lift him up on the shoulder, They carry him, and cause him to rest in his place, And he standeth, from his place he moveth not, Yea, one crieth unto him, and he answereth not, From his adversity he saveth him not. 8. Remember this, and shew yourselves men, Turn [it] back, O transgressors, to the heart.

9. Remember former things of old, For I [am] Mighty, and there is none else, God, and there is none like Me.

Declaring from the beginning the latter end, And from of old that which hath not been done, Saying, 'My counsel doth stand, And all My delight I do.' 11. Calling from the east a ravenous bird, From a far land the man of My counsel, Yea, I have spoken, yea, I bring it in, I have formed [it], yea, I do it. (Isaiah 46:7-11, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: YHWH, speaking through the prophet
Audience: "O ye transgressors" (46:8) within "the house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel" (46:3)
Location: Judah on the traditional view; Babylon among the exiles on the common critical view of chapters 40-55
Time period: Traditionally the eighth-century prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, speaking ahead to the exile; many critical scholars date chapters 40-55 to the late exile, c. 550-539 BC, before Cyrus, "the man of my counsel from a far country" (46:11)

Theological reading

"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me." The chapter opens with Babylon's gods Bel and Nebo being loaded onto pack animals and carried away (46:1-2). God's answer is that he carries his people, not the other way around: "I have made, and I will bear; yea, I will carry, and will deliver" (46:4).

Two claims in one verse. The verse makes two statements, and they are not the same. "I am God (Strong's H410, el), and there is none else" is a claim about how many gods there are. "I am God (H430, elohim), and there is none like (H3644) me" is a claim about what kind of God he is. He is the only one, and nothing else resembles him. The second line repeats the question of 46:5, "To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?"

Remember. "Remember (H2142) the former things of old (H5769)" points Israel to its history, and the next verse gives the reason: God has been "declaring the end from the beginning" (46:10). The proof that he alone is God is that he announced his plans beforehand and carried them out, which the idols of 46:1-2 and 46:6-7 could not do.

No room for more gods. Latter-day Saint teaching holds that faithful humans may become gods. Mormonism vs the Christian God cites this verse against that teaching: God says there is "none like me," not merely none above me. The New Testament does promise that believers will become "partakers of the divine nature" and be made like him (2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 3:2), and the early church spoke of this as deification, but that is participation by grace, never becoming an additional God alongside him. See Theosis and Monotheism.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

H0410 - el, el, Strong's H0410
H5769 - olam, olam, Strong's H5769
H0430 - elohim, elohim, Strong's H0430

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Divine Immutability, via Isaiah 46.9-10
Divine Providence, via Isaiah 46.9-10
Divine Sovereignty, via Isaiah 46.9-10
God Is Surprised Objection, via Isaiah 46.9-10
Theological Fatalism, via Isaiah 46.9-10

People:

Isaiah the Prophet, via Isaiah 46.9-11

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.