Isaiah 63:8 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 63:8 mean?

Isaiah 63:8 looks back on the Lord’s relationship with Israel. The Lord calls Israel his own people and speaks of them as children he expects to be faithful. He then acts as their Saviour: the one who rescues them.

The verse comes within a remembrance of the Lord’s kindness in verse 7. The image of children gives the Lord’s words a family setting. His expectation that the children “will not lie” makes the people’s later rebellion in verse 10 especially striking.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 63:8

• “lie” — שָׁקַר (shaq ar): This word can mean to deal falsely or prove untrue, as well as to speak a lie. Here it suggests faithfulness in the people’s conduct, not only truthfulness in their words.
• “Saviour” — יָשַׁע (yashaʿ): This word carries the sense of saving or delivering. The KJV’s “Saviour” presents the Lord as the one who came to his people’s rescue.

Why Isaiah 63:8 matters

• The verse puts the Lord’s own words at the center of the relationship. “He said” introduces his claim, “they are my people,” rather than a claim the people make about themselves.
• The passage does not end with the expectation of faithful children. Verse 10 says the people “rebelled,” creating a sharp contrast with “children that will not lie.”
• The rescue is remembered as part of a relationship, not merely as an event. In verse 9, the Lord is described as carrying the people “all the days of old.”