What Does Isaiah 43:19 Mean?
Two renderings of the same sentence, the verses it belongs to, and what the passage is doing — so you can decide what it means rather than take someone's word for it.
"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." Isaiah 43:19, King James Version
The same verse in modern English
"Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert." Isaiah 43:19, Berean Standard Bible
What it sits inside
A verse quoted on its own is the commonest way one gets misread. Here it is with what comes immediately before and after, in the King James Version.
Isaiah 43:17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
Isaiah 43:18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
Isaiah 43:19 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.
Isaiah 43:20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
Isaiah 43:21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
A conversation built on it
Regret keeps the old footage running because it feels like the honest thing to do. But the promise here is in the present tense — now it shall spring forth — and it is set in a wilderness, not in spite of one. Peter denied Him three times and still got the keys.
Questions people ask
What does Isaiah 43:19 mean?
In modern English (Berean Standard Bible) it reads: “Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” The King James rendering most people know is: “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.”
What is the context of Isaiah 43:19?
The verses immediately around it read: (Isaiah 43:17) Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. (Isaiah 43:18) Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. (Isaiah 43:19) 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. (Isaiah 43:20) The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. (Isaiah 43:21) This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
How is Isaiah 43:19 used in a conversation about this?
Regret keeps the old footage running because it feels like the honest thing to do. But the promise here is in the present tense — now it shall spring forth — and it is set in a wilderness, not in spite of one. Peter denied Him three times and still got the keys.
Reading it is one thing. Saying what it stirs up is another.
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