Bible Strands
Isaiah 43:19
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — YHWH speaks to Israel, immediately after commanding them to set aside memory of former things (Isaiah 43:18). The moment is one of transition: an old order is being discarded so a new provision can emerge.
The words — חֲדָשָׁה (chadashah) is a noun, "a new thing," not merely an adjective. תִצְמָח (titzmach) is literally "it is springing up," a botanical image of growth rather than the BSB's more generic "coming."
The thread — Isaiah 42:9 and Isaiah 48:6 pair the declaration of new things with their prior proclamation; 2 Corinthians 5:17 reuses the "old has passed / new has come" language to describe the believer's state in Christ.
Why it lands — The verse does not invite hope about a future; it demands recognition of something already present. The question "Do you not see it?" functions as an accusation against inattention, not a request for faith.
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
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 48:6 You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not acknowledge them? From now on I will tell you of new things, hidden things unknown to you.
- Isaiah 42:9 Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
- Revelation 21:5 And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”
- Isaiah 41:18 I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.
- Luke 3:4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.
- Isaiah 35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
- Jeremiah 31:22 How long will you wander, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the land—a woman will shelter a man.”
- Psalms 78:16 He brought streams from the stone and made water flow down like rivers.
- Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.