Isaiah 43:26 kjv
Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
Isaiah 43:26 nkjv
Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted.
Isaiah 43:26 niv
Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.
Isaiah 43:26 esv
Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
Isaiah 43:26 nlt
Let us review the situation together,
and you can present your case to prove your innocence.
Isaiah 43 26 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 9:2-3 | "Indeed, I know that this is true, But how can a man be righteous before God? If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand." | Inability to contend with God |
| Ps 143:2 | "Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no one living is righteous." | No one can be justified by their works |
| Prov 20:9 | "Who can say, 'I have made my heart clean; I am pure from my sin'?" | Self-justification is impossible |
| Prov 28:13 | "He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy." | Path to mercy is confession, not justification |
| Isa 1:18 | "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow." | God invites legal dialogue and offers pardon |
| Isa 64:6 | "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;" | Human righteousness is insufficient |
| Jer 2:35 | "Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent, Surely His anger shall turn from me.’ Behold, I will bring you to judgment for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’" | False claim of innocence leads to judgment |
| Jer 17:9 | "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" | Human heart's true condition |
| Mic 6:2-3 | "Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s complaint, And you strong foundations of the earth; For the LORD has a complaint against His people… O My people, what have I done to you?" | God's legal case against Israel |
| Rom 3:19-20 | "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight." | Law exposes guilt, does not justify |
| Rom 3:23 | "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," | Universal human sinfulness |
| Rom 8:33-34 | "Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen…" | God's ultimate justification of believers |
| Gal 2:16 | "knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law;" | Justification is by faith, not works |
| Eph 2:8-9 | "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." | Salvation and justification by grace |
| Tit 3:5 | "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us," | Mercy, not works, saves and justifies |
| 1 Jn 1:8 | "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." | Self-deception regarding sin |
| 1 Jn 1:9 | "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." | Forgiveness through confession |
| Rev 12:10 | "the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down." | Contrast: God's justice vs. accuser's charges |
| Zech 3:1-5 | Joshua the high priest, clothed in filthy garments, standing before the angel of the LORD. Satan stood at his right hand to accuse him. Then God provides clean garments. | Example of God cleansing/justifying |
| Luke 18:9-14 | Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, where the humble tax collector is justified, not the self-righteous Pharisee. | Justification by humility, not self-righteousness |
Isaiah 43 verses
Isaiah 43 26 Meaning
Isaiah 43:26 presents a challenge from God to Israel in a legal courtroom setting. God invites Israel to present their argument, reminding Him of any actions or deeds they believe would demonstrate their innocence or justify them before Him. The divine challenge implies the futility of such an endeavor, as Israel's history of disobedience and unfaithfulness has made self-justification impossible. Instead of providing evidence of righteousness, they are expected to confess their transgressions.
Isaiah 43 26 Context
Isaiah 43 is part of the "Book of Consolation" (Isa 40-55), addressing the Israelites during their exile in Babylon. Despite their captivity and their sins that led to it, God proclaims His unchanging identity as their Creator, Redeemer, and Holy One (Isa 43:1-3, 10-15). He assures them that He will perform a new exodus, delivering them from Babylon as He delivered them from Egypt (Isa 43:16-21). However, immediately preceding verse 26, God confronts their past transgressions, accusing them of wearying Him with their iniquities and failure to call upon Him truly (Isa 43:22-24). Critically, verse 25 declares, "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins." Verse 26, therefore, follows this divine declaration of forgiveness, almost challenging them: given that God has already offered forgiveness, how will they argue their innocence if they wish to contend with Him in court, before His offer takes full effect in their lives? It frames a rib or "divine lawsuit," a common prophetic motif where God puts His people on trial.
Isaiah 43 26 Word analysis
- Remind Me; (הַגִּידָה – haggidah) - From the root nāgad (to declare, tell). This is a Hiphil imperative, demanding an active presentation. It’s a challenge to Israel to "bring it forth," "state it," "tell Me" everything they have to say. It implies God is inviting a formal, detailed presentation of their legal case, even though He is omniscient and knows all.
- Let us contend together; (נִשָּׁפְטָה – nisshaftah) - From the root shāphaṭ (to judge, decide, contend). This is a Niphal cohortative, signifying "let us judge each other," or "let us enter into litigation/judgment together." It characterizes the setting as a courtroom or legal dispute. God Himself proposes the judicial process, placing Himself, in a sense, as both prosecutor and judge, while also allowing for a defense.
- State your case, (סַפֵּר – sappēr) - From the root sāphar (to count, recount, relate in detail). This is a Piel imperative, an intensive form meaning "recount precisely," "narrate comprehensively," "tell exactly what happened." It's not a casual telling but a request for a detailed accounting, likely referring to their deeds or merits that would support their claim of innocence.
- that you may be justified. (תִּצְדָּק – titzdaq) - From the root tsādaq (to be righteous, just, be justified). This is a Niphal imperfect, meaning "that you may be declared righteous," or "found innocent." This is the ultimate objective for any defendant in a legal proceeding. God challenges them to prove their righteousness, implicitly highlighting their inability to do so on their own merit.
- Remind Me; Let us contend together;: This phrase establishes the judicial setting and the direct engagement God invites with His people. It signifies an explicit legal challenge from God to Israel, urging them to remember their own history and present a defense in court. It emphasizes God's justice and His willingness to follow legal protocols, even as the ultimate judge.
- State your case, that you may be justified.: This concludes the challenge, clearly articulating the purpose of the proposed litigation: to present arguments that could lead to a declaration of innocence. It contrasts sharply with God's preceding declaration of blotting out their sins, underscoring that human self-justification is both futile and unnecessary when divine grace has already been offered.
Isaiah 43 26 Bonus section
This verse carries strong polemical implications against contemporary idolatry and the gods of Babylon. Unlike human judges who might be swayed or pagan gods who could not intervene or reveal the future, Yahweh is Omniscient and utterly just. He invites His people to a fair trial, but in doing so, reveals their spiritual bankruptcy and the utter impotence of relying on anything other than Himself. Their idols couldn't save or justify them, nor could their own good deeds erase a history of rebellion. The passage implicitly underscores the theological point that true righteousness (justification) is an imputed gift from God, not an achieved status by man. This courtroom scene prefigures the New Testament concept that "no flesh will be justified in His sight by the deeds of the law" (Rom 3:20), and that justification comes by faith in Christ.
Isaiah 43 26 Commentary
Isaiah 43:26 encapsulates a profound moment in God's interaction with Israel. It’s a divine lawsuit where God, as the righteous Judge, invites His people, the defendants, to present any case for their own innocence or justification. The verse serves as a rhetorical device, not because God genuinely expects a valid defense (He has just cataloged their transgressions in previous verses), but to demonstrate the futility of human self-righteousness. Despite their persistent sin, God, for His own name's sake, declared His intention to forgive (Isa 43:25). Therefore, the invitation to "be justified" by their own arguments subtly steers them toward acknowledging their inability to meet divine standards and recognizing the sheer grace of His offer. It contrasts reliance on human deeds with dependence on God's redemptive mercy, anticipating the New Testament emphasis on justification by faith rather than works. The challenge underscores that salvation comes not from human performance in a legalistic court, but from God's gracious blotting out of sin.