Isaiah 42:16

I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — YHWH speaks to Israel, the blind (cf. 42:18), positioned between judgment on the proud (v. 15) and the shame of idolaters (v. 17), within the Servant's commission (42:1–7).

The words — The Hiphil form הוֹלַכְתִּי (ho.lakh.Ti) is causative: "I will cause to walk," not merely "I will walk." The verse deliberately distinguishes דֶּרֶךְ (De.rekh, "way") from נְתִיבוֹת (n.ti.Vot, "paths"), both governed by the same negation "which they have not known."

The thread — Isaiah 30:21 promises the ear will hear the command to walk in the way; Isaiah 35:8 names a Highway of Holiness reserved for those who walk it; Luke 3:5 echoes the leveling of rough places.

Why it lands — The verse does not ask the reader to see clearly first; it asks them to be led while still blind. That is the demand: relinquish the claim to self-guidance before the promise of clarity arrives.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְהוֹלַכְתִּ֣יve./ho.lakh.Tiand/ I will lead עִוְרִ֗ים'iv.Rimblind [people]בְּדֶ֙רֶךְ֙be./De.rekhby/ a way לֹ֣אlo'[which] not יָדָ֔עוּya.Da.'uthey have known בִּנְתִיב֥וֹתbi/n.ti.Votby/ paths לֹֽא־lo'-[which] not יָדְע֖וּya.de.'Uthey have known אַדְרִיכֵ֑ם'ad.ri.Khe/mI will guide/ them אָשִׂים֩'a.SimI will make מַחְשָׁ֨ךְmach.Shakh[the] dark place לִפְנֵיהֶ֜םli/f.nei./Hem<to>/ before/ them לָא֗וֹרla./'or<into> <the>/ light וּמַֽעֲקַשִּׁים֙u./ma.'a.ka.Shimand/ rough places לְמִישׁ֔וֹרle./mi.Shor<into>/ level ground אֵ֚לֶּה'E.lehthese הַדְּבָרִ֔יםha./de.va.Rim[are] the/ things עֲשִׂיתִ֖ם'a.si.Ti/m[which] I will do/ them וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not עֲזַבְתִּֽים׃'a.zav.Ti/mI will abandon/ them

King James Version

And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Cross-references

Isaiah 30:21 And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
Luke 3:5 Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill made low. The crooked ways shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth.
Isaiah 35:8 And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
Isaiah 60:19 No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.
Isaiah 40:4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.
Luke 1:78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
Isaiah 32:3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
Jeremiah 32:39 I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them.
Psalms 94:14 For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.