Isaiah 43:19
behold, I do a new thing; now it shall spring forth shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the waste.
View all translations →The verse stands in a section where Jehovah, in controversy with idols, calls Israel His witnesses and unfolds His purpose to redeem them. He bids them stop dwelling on past mercies — even the Red Sea — because something fresh is about to spring forth that will eclipse the old.
Kelly groups the verse with the surrounding speech of Jehovah, where the LORD answers idolatry by setting forth His own work as Redeemer, Holy One, and King. He quotes Jehovah's words and underlines the unstoppable nature of this coming work:
William Kelly"I, I am Jehovah; and beside me there is no Saviour... Yea, since the day was, I am He; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall hinder it?... Behold, I will do a new thing; now shall it spring forth: shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert."
Hamilton Smith reads verses 18–21 as a call to take what God has already done as the pledge of what He is yet about to do. Past deliverance grounds future faith, but it must not become a ceiling for it:
Hamilton SmithLet Israel remember and consider God's deliverances in the past, and thus trust God for the "new thing" about to take place in the future. In the past God made "a way in the sea" (16); in the future He will make "a way in the wilderness" for His people to return to their land. He will refresh and sustain them on their journey with rivers in the deserts, and protect them from "the beast of the field." Thus, at last, they will "show forth" Jehovah's praise and thus fulfil the purpose for which they were formed.
The contrast is precise. The first deliverance was through the sea — the waters became a road. The second deliverance is through a wilderness — the desert will be turned into a watered country. What was an obstacle in Egypt's day was the sea; what would be an obstacle in the future is a barren land. In both cases the obstacle itself becomes the means of grace.
The "new thing" is not an event Israel produces; it is something Jehovah does for His own name's sake when His people have proved unable. Kelly draws this out from the immediate context, where the chapter ends by exposing Israel's failure:
William KellyIn the day that is coming grace will work not only for but in them. Jehovah will work for His own sake, man having failed in every way.
Hamilton Smith ties this to the titles Jehovah takes in the same passage — "your Redeemer," "your Holy One," "your King" — which guarantee the new thing will be done:
Hamilton SmithTurning from the nations to Israel, God encourages His people by saying, I am "your Redeemer", "your Holy One", "your King." For Israel's sake God had humbled the pride of Babylon, the centre of idolatry, as in the past He had made a way for His people through the sea and overthrown the host of the Egyptians.
Darby places the verse inside the wider argument of Isaiah 40–48, where Israel is repeatedly named Jehovah's "servant" precisely to set them over against the worshippers of idols. The "new thing" is part of the proof that Jehovah, not Bel or Nebo, controls history:
J. N. DarbyFrom Isaiah 42:19, Israel, "the people robbed and spoiled," is repeatedly referred to as Jehovah's servant in contrast with the worshippers of idols; thus in this verse (19), then all through Isaiah 43... All here is controversy with idols.
While the language fits Israel's return from Babylon, commentators see the full sweep reaching beyond it to the final restoration of the nation:
Other AuthorsHowever far this may apply to Israel's recovery in the past from Babylon, the final fulfilment is assuredly yet future. What a day will that be when Israel's King intervenes for His people... How deep their joy when the great Breaker of bondage leads them again into the land of their blessing!
- New surpasses old. Israel must not stop at Red Sea memories; God is about to do something fresh that will eclipse every former mercy.
- Obstacle becomes road. As waters once became a path, so the wilderness will be turned into a watered country with rivers in the desert.
- For His own sake. Grace will work not only for Israel but in them; Jehovah acts because man has failed in every way.
- Three titles guarantee it. Redeemer, Holy One, and King — the same God who humbled Egypt and Babylon — secures the fulfilment.
- Future horizon. The verse touches the return from Babylon but reaches forward to Israel's final restoration under their King.