Isaiah 43:13

Isa 43:13 Yea, before the day [was] I [am] he; and [there is] none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

Ver. 13. Yea, before the day was I am he.] The "Ancient of days," yea, the eternal The God of Israel was long before Israel was in being.

And there is none that can deliver out of my hand.] So Nebuchadnezzar vainly vaunted, but was soon confuted. {Dan 3:15; Dan 3:17; Dan 3:29}

I will work, and who shall let it?] Angels may be hindered. God can come between their essence and their executive power, and so keep them from doing what they would. In fire there is the substance and the quality of heat; between these God can separate, as he did in the Babylonish fire. {Dan 3:22-25} But who shall hinder the Most High?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa_43:13

I will work, and who shall let it?

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Salvation through judgment

The words (Isa_43:13) intimate that the salvation foretold comes in the way of judgment. Jehovah will effectually intervene; and when He does this, who can turn it back, so that it shall not be done? (F. Delitzsch, D. D.)

A great work

I. THE WORKER AND THE WORK TO BE DONE. The worker is God Himself. He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. And the work which He hath purposed with regard to the salvation of His people is to gather together in one the children of God which are scattered abroad. There are, however, subordinate workers whom God employs for this purpose--ministers of the Gospel, whose chief work lies in the endeavour to win souls to Christ, who are called labourers together with God--workers together with Him; and it is theirs to preach the Word, the substance of which Word is Christ--to invite sinners to Christ by showing His excellency and dignity as the Son of God, His tenderness and sympathy as the Son of man--by showing to sinners the perfection of His redeeming work. But as ministers are fellow-workers together with God by virtue of their office, so may private Christians be.

II. THE FIELD OF WORK. Gods field of labour is everywhere. His object is to gather His people together who are still lying in darkness and sin. For this glorious end He employs various means. His means are directed particularly to individuals.

III. THE CENTRE IN WHOM THE WORK IS COMPLETE. This, in one word, is Christ. It is the simple knowledge of a dependence upon Christs person by which God works out His purpose of salvation. But I should not be preaching to you the whole counsel of God if I omitted to put before you also the side of your responsibility. (J. W. Reeve, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE ETERNITY AND OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD

Isa_43:13. Yea, before the day was, &c.

The doctrine taught here is—

1. That God is from everlasting—for if He was before time, He must have been eternal (H. E. I. 2253; P. O. 1493).

2. That He is unchangeably the same—a doctrine which is, as it is here designed to be used, the only sure foundation for the security of His people—for who can trust a being who is fickle? (H. E. I. 2254–2256, 2324, 2341).

3. That He can deliver His people always, no matter what are their circumstances.

4. That He will accomplish all His plans; no matter whether to save His people, or to destroy His foes.

5. That no one, man or devil, can hinder Him.

6. That opposition to Him is as fruitless as it is wild. If men wish for happiness, they must fall in with His plans, and aid in the furtherance of His designs.—A. Barnes.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

before--literally, from the time of the first existence of day.

let--Old English for "hinder" (Isa 14:27). Rather, translate, "undo it" [HORSLEY].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(13) Who shall let it?—Literally, who shall turn it back? One of the numerous echoes from Job (Isa_9:12; Isa_11:10).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. Yea, before the day was] The correct translation is that of R.V. marg.: Yea, from this day forth (for all the future) I am the same (Isa_41:4); the deliverance marking a new era in Jehovah’s manifestation of Himself as God, the only God who is a Saviour (Isa_43:11).

I will work … let it?] Better: I work, and who shall reverse it?

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thus saith the Lord, your Redeemer,.... That redeemed Israel out of Egypt, and would redeem the Jews from Babylon in a short time, and be the author of a greater redemption to his people than either of these, even a spiritual and eternal one:

the Holy One of Israel; see Isa 43:3, holy in himself, holiness to Israel, and faithful to his promises:

for your sake I have sent to Babylon: Cyrus and his army to take it, in order to deliver the Jews from their captivity in it. The Targum wrongly paraphrases it to the sense quite contrary,

"for your sins have I carried you captive unto Babylon:''

and have brought down all their nobles; from their seats of honour and glory, stripped them of all their grandeur and dignity, and reduced them to a low and mean estate. This is to be understood of the princes and nobles of Babylon, who fell with the city, as their king did: or, "their bars" (l); for what bars are to houses and cities, that princes should be to the people, the defence and protection of them. Though some think this refers to the gates of Babylon, and the strong bars of them now broken; see Isa 45:2. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it "fugitives"; and which some understand of the Jews, who were as such in Babylon, but now should be brought out of it; which sense is countenanced by the above versions, which render it, I will raise up, bring, or bring back, "all the fugitives" (m); others of the Chaldeans, who should be forced to fly upon the taking of their city; but the first sense seems best, which distinguishes them from the common people in the next clause:

and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in their ships; who used to glory in their shipping they had in the river Euphrates, as the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions render it; and so the Targum calls their ships, "ships of their praise"; where, and of which, they used to make their ovations and triumphs; and the word (n) used has the signification of shouting for joy: or rather, "whose cry is to the ships" (o); as it might be, when they found Cyrus and his army had got into the city, then their cry was, to the ships, to the ships, that lay in the river hard by, in order to make their escape; or their cry was, when they were "in" the ships, even in a way of lamentation and distress, because they could not get them off, Cyrus having drained the river; or it refers to their cry, when put aboard the ships that belonged to the Medes and Persians, in order to the transporting them into other countries. Such a howling there will be when mystical Babylon is destroyed, Rev 18:17.

(l) "vectes omnes", Julius & Tremellius; "vectes universos", Piscator. (m) "Fugitivos universos", Vatablus, Paginus, Montanus; "fugientes omnes", Vitringa (n) "in navibus ovatio eorum", Forerius; "cumu avibus ob quas jubilant", Piscator; "in naves ovationis ipsorum", Vitringa. (o) "Ad naves clamor eorum", Grotius, Gataker.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Yea, before the day was - Before the first day, or before the beginning of time; from eternity. The Septuagint renders it correctly, Ἀπ ̓ ἀρχης Ap' archēs, and the Vulgate (Ab initio), ‘From the beginning.’

I am he - I am the same Isa 43:10.

I will work - I will accomplish my designs.

And who shall let it? - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘Turn it back.’ The meaning is, ‘Who can hinder it?’ And the doctrine taught here is:

1. That God is from everlasting, for if he was before time, he must have been eternal.

2. That he is unchangeably the same - a doctrine which is, as it is here designed to be used, the only sure foundation for the security of his people - for who can trust a being who is fickle, changing, vacillating?

3. That he can deliver his people always, no matter what are their circumstances.

4. That he will accomplish all his plans; no matter whether to save his people, or to destroy his foes.

5. That no one - man or devil - can hinder him. How can the feeble arm of a creature resist God?

6. That opposition to him is as fruitless as it is wicked. If people wish for happiness, they must fall in with his plans, and aid in the furtherance of his designs.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Before the day was; before all time; or, which is all one, from all eternity: or, since the day was; since the beginning of time and things, in all ages since the creation of the world.

I am he; I am God, and I have proved myself to be so.

There is none, none of those which are called gods, that can deliver out of my hand; that can save them whom I will destroy. Therefore they are impotent, and consequently no gods.

I will work, and who shall let it? nor can they hinder me in any other work which I resolve to do.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Yea, before the day was I am he. So the LXX, Jerome, and Stier; but most moderns translate, "Yea, from this time forth I am he". (setup. Eze_48:35) Kay, however, thinks that the translation of the Authorized Version may stand. Who shall let it? literally, as in Isa_14:27, who shall turn it back? i.e. "reverse it, undo it." Surely no one.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Yea - Before all time; from all eternity, I am God.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

“Also (or even) from the day I am He, and there is no one freeing from my hand; I will do, and who will undo it?” The assonance in the last clause is not in the original, which literally means, I will act (or make), and who will cause it to return, (i.e., reverse or nullify it)? The interrogative form implies negation. A similar expression of the same idea is found in Isa 14:27. What is said specifically in the first clause of delivering from Jehovah’s power, is extended in the last to all counteraction or reversal of His acts. From the day is understood by some as referring to a specific terminus a quo, such as the origin of Israel as a nation, the exodus, etc. Others make it indefinite, ‘of old’ or ‘long since’. But the best interpreters explain it as meaning ‘since the first day’, or ‘since time began’. The words are then universal, both in the extent of power claimed, and in relation to the time of its exercise. Over every object and in every age the power of Jehovah had been clearly proved to be supreme and absolute.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Even before the day I am He Not only that day was I alone, but even before it became day I am He alone.

I do If I came to do, no one can retract.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Before the day was, etc. I was God before the existence of day. Therefore, the word גם yea is added.

מהיות יום:═מיום When day was not yet.

I am he; and since I am God, who can be delivered out of my hand;

I do my desire and will, and none can frustrate my doing.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.