Isaiah 43:19

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ¹  Do you not recognize ²  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ³  in the wilderness.

Jeremiah 31:22

31:22 How long will you vacillate, ⁴ 

you who were once like an unfaithful daughter? ⁵ 

For I, the Lord, promise ⁶  to bring about something new ⁷  on the earth,

something as unique as a woman protecting a man!’” ⁸ 

Revelation 21:1

A New Heaven and a New Earth

21:1 Then ⁹  I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, ¹⁰  and the sea existed no more.

Revelation 21:5

21:5 And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then ¹¹  he said to me, “Write it down, ¹²  because these words are reliable ¹³  and true.”

¹ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

² tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

³ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

⁴ tn The translation “dilly-dally” is suggested by J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 276. The verb occurs only here in this stem (the Hitpael) and only one other time in any other stem (the Qal in Song 5:6). The dictionaries define it as “to turn this way and that” (cf., e.g., BDB 330 s.v. חָמַק Hithp.). In the context it refers to turning this way and that looking for the way back.

⁵ sn Israel’s backsliding is forgotten and forgiven. They had once been characterized as an apostate people (3:14, 22; the word “apostate” and “unfaithful” are the same in Hebrew) and figuratively depicted as an adulterous wife (3:20). Now they are viewed as having responded to his invitation (compare 31:18-19 with 3:22-25). Hence they are no longer depicted as an unfaithful daughter but as an unsullied virgin (see the literal translation of “my dear children” in vv. 4, 21 and the study note on v. 4.)

⁶ tn Heb “For the Lord will create.” The person has been shifted to avoid the possible confusion for some readers of a third person reference to the Lord in what has otherwise been a first person address. The verb “will create” is another one of the many examples of the prophetic perfect that have been seen in the book of Jeremiah. For the significance of the verb “create” here see the study note on “bring about something new.”

⁷ sn Heb “create.” This word is always used with God as the subject and refers to the production of something new or unique, like the creation of the world and the first man and woman (Gen 1:1; 2:3; 1:27; 5:1) or the creation of a new heavens and a new earth in a new age (Isa 65:17), or the bringing about of new and unique circumstances (Num 16:30). Here reference is made contextually to the new exodus, that marvelous deliverance which will be so great that the old will pale in comparison (see the first note on v. 9).

⁸ tn The meaning of this last line is uncertain. The translation has taken it as proverbial for something new and unique. For a fairly complete discussion of most of the options see C. Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” EBC 6:571. For the nuance of “protecting” for the verb here see BDB 686 s.v. סָבַב Po‘ 1 and compare the usage in Deut 32:10.

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

¹⁰ tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (apercomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence – ‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

¹² tn The words “it down” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

¹³ tn Grk “faithful.”