Bible Strands
Isaiah 45:23
By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks in the first person, addressing all creation after calling the ends of the earth to turn to Him (v. 22). The moment is a divine oath: God swears by His own name, not by another.
The words — נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי (nishba'ti, "I have sworn") anchors the verse in an irrevocable oath, while יָשׁוּב (yashuv, "it will return") is negated: the word will not come back empty.
The thread — Philippians 2:10 applies the bowing-knee image specifically to the name of Jesus; Isaiah 55:11 echoes the "word will not return" motif; Romans 14:10–12 frames the same universal accountability before God's judgment seat.
Why it lands — The verse removes any option of exemption: the oath is by God's own name and the word is sealed. A reader is asked to stop negotiating the scope of who must submit.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Cross-references
- Philippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
- Romans 14:10 Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
- Isaiah 55:11 so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
- Hebrews 6:13 When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,
- Deuteronomy 6:13 Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.
- Psalms 63:11 But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by Him will exult, for the mouths of liars will be shut.
- Isaiah 45:19 I have not spoken in secret, from a place in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I say what is right.
- Isaiah 65:16 Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth, and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from My sight.
- Psalms 132:2 how he swore an oath to the LORD, and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
- Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.