Isaiah 42:9

42:9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; ¹ 

now I announce new events.

Before they begin to occur,

I reveal them to you.” ² 

Isaiah 43:19

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

Now it begins to happen! ³  Do you not recognize ⁴  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ⁵  in the wilderness.

Isaiah 43:2

43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;

when you pass ⁶  through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not harm ⁷  you.

Colossians 1:17

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ⁸  in him.

[42:9]  ¹ tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”

[42:9]  ² tn Heb “before they sprout up, I cause you to hear.” The pronoun “you” is plural, referring to the people of Israel. In this verse “the former things” are the Lord’s earlier predictive oracles which have come to pass, while “the new things” are predicted events that have not yet begun to take place. “The former things” are earlier events in Israel’s history which God announced beforehand, such as the Exodus (see 43:16-18). “The new things” are the predictions about the servant (42:1-7). and may also include Cyrus’ conquests (41:25-27).

[43:19]  ³ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ⁴ tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

[43:2]  ⁶ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[43:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”

[1:17]  ⁸ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.