Isaiah 43:10

10 You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have taken for myself: so that you may see and have faith in me, and that it may be clear to you that I am he; before me there was no God formed, and there will not be after me.

Isaiah 43:10 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 43:10

Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord
The people of Israel, who could testify that the Lord had foretold their affliction in Egypt, their coming from thence, and settling in the land of Canaan, many hundreds of years before they came to pass, and which were exactly fulfilled; and so the apostles of Christ, and ministers of the word, and all Christian people in all nations, are witnesses of the prophecies concerning Christ, his birth, miracles, obedience, sufferings, death, resurrection, ascension to heaven, and session at the right hand of God, all which are exactly accomplished, ( Acts 1:8 ) : and my servant whom I have chosen;
meaning either the Prophet Isaiah, or the prophets in general; or rather the Messiah. So the Targum,

``and my servant the Messiah, in whom I am well pleased;''

and who is called the faithful witness, ( Revelation 1:5 ) ( 3:14 ) , and to whom the characters of a servant, and the Lord's chosen, well agree, ( Isaiah 42:1 ) : that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he;
by which testimonies and evident proofs of deity, from the prediction of future events, and the accomplishment of them, you may have a competent knowledge, a firm persuasion, and a clear perception of this important truth, that the God of Israel, and of all true Christians, is the one only Lord God: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me;
intimating that idols were formed by the hands of men, and yet none of these were formed before him, and therefore could make no pretensions to deity, or to an equality with him; nor should any be formed afterwards, that could be put in competition with him. In short, the sense is, there is no other god beside him; as the Targum, Septuagint, and Arabic versions render it.

Isaiah 43:10 In-Context

8 Send out the blind people who have eyes, and those who have ears, but they are shut.

9 Let all the nations come together, and let the peoples be present: who among them is able to make this clear, and give us word of earlier things? let their witnesses come forward, so that they may be seen to be true, and that they may give ear, and say, It is true.

10 You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have taken for myself: so that you may see and have faith in me, and that it may be clear to you that I am he; before me there was no God formed, and there will not be after me.

11 I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no saviour but me.

12 I gave the word, and made it clear, and there was no strange god among you: for this reason you are my witnesses, says the Lord.