Isaiah 43:18–19
Bible verses · Also called: Isaiah 43:18-19, Behold, I will do a new thing, Remember ye not the former things, A way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert
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18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
The text is the New Korean Revised Version (1998), shown under a licence from the Korean Bible Society. Wording may differ slightly from the Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Standard Version. Read in the Korean Revised Version
God's declaration, "Remember ye not the former things… Behold, I will do a new thing," with the promise to make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The passage is very often used as a motto for the new year and for new beginnings, and the central interpretive question is what "the former things" and "a new thing" refer to.
Context
Isaiah 43 promises salvation to Israel during the Babylonian exile. Verses 16–17 speak of the LORD "which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together." This recalls the crossing of the Red Sea at the Exodus. In verses 18–19 this same God says, "Remember ye not the former things," and announces a new thing: "I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." Verses 20–21 conclude that even the beasts of the field will honor God and that His chosen people "shall shew forth my praise."
Interpretation
- As a new exodus: Many interpreters hold that "the former things" refers to the first Exodus, while "a new thing" portrays the return from Babylon as a salvation greater than the first Exodus. The basis for this reading is the parallel: the One who once made a way in the sea now makes a way in the wilderness.
- As eschatological new creation: Christian interpretation holds that this "new thing" is fulfilled in the new creation accomplished in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Revelation 21:5 ("Behold, I make all things new") are cited alongside it.
- The meaning of "remember ye not": Rather than a command to forget the past, the phrase is understood as a warning against dwelling solely on past deliverance and thereby failing to see what God is doing now. Some point out that Isaiah 46:9, by contrast, says, "Remember the former things of old," and that the two passages should therefore be read together.
Questions of Application
The passage is widely used when churches or individuals resolve to put past failures behind them and make a fresh start. At the same time, some criticize its use to promote new church projects or changes as "God's new thing" while dismissing opposing views as being "bound to the former things." It is stressed that the new thing in the text is not a human plan but a salvation that God Himself brings about.
In the Korean Church
It is one of the passages most frequently chosen as the theme verse for New Year's Eve worship services, annual church mottoes, and thanksgiving services marking a church's founding or relocation.
Related Passages
- Isaiah 43:16–21
- Isaiah 46:9
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
- Revelation 21:5
See also 4
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