Isaiah 49:4

But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Servant addresses God immediately after being designated as the vessel through whom divine glory will be displayed in Isaiah 49:3. This statement precedes the Lord's clarification in Isaiah 49:5 regarding the specific mission to restore Jacob and gather Israel.

The words — The text emphasizes יָגַ֔עְתִּי (ya.Ga'.ti), literally "I have labored," and כִלֵּ֑יתִי (khi.Lei.ti), literally "I have caused to fail" or "spent." These terms anchor the Servant's report of exhausted effort in the face of perceived lack of results.

The thread — The theme of labor yielding no visible fruit appears in Galatians 4:11, where Paul fears his pastoral efforts may have been in vain. The contrast between human exhaustion and divine recompense echoes Isaiah 40:10, which declares that the Lord comes with might and carries His reward.

Why it lands — The passage records the Servant's honest accounting of depleted strength before affirming that vindication and reward remain under God's authority. It requires the reader to separate personal metrics of success from divine timing and to trust God's assessment over immediate outcomes.

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

וַאֲנִ֤יva./'a.Niand/ I אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙'a.Mar.tiI said לְרִ֣יקle./Rikto/ emptiness יָגַ֔עְתִּיya.Ga'.tiI have labored לְתֹ֥הוּle./To.huto/ nothingness וְהֶ֖בֶלve./He.veland/ futility כֹּחִ֣יko.Ch/istrength/ my כִלֵּ֑יתִיkhi.Lei.tiI have caused to fail אָכֵן֙'a.Khennevertheless מִשְׁפָּטִ֣יmish.pa.T/ijustice/ my אֶת־'et-[is] with יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh וּפְעֻלָּתִ֖יu./fe.'u.la.T/iand/ recompense/ my אֶת־'et-[is] with אֱלֹהָֽי׃'e.lo.Ha/iGod/ my

King James Version

Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.

Cross-references

Isaiah 35:4 Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”
Galatians 4:11 I fear for you, that my efforts for you may have been in vain.
Isaiah 40:10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
Isaiah 62:11 Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: See, your Savior comes! Look, His reward is with Him, and His recompense goes before Him.”
Isaiah 65:23 They will not labor in vain or bear children doomed to disaster; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD—they and their descendants with them.
Ezekiel 3:19 But if you warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself.
Matthew 17:17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.”
Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!
2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.