Isaiah 43:16
in Isaiah 43Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the surging waters,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah, who maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
KJV
Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 43
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 16) Thus says the Lord, who made a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters. LXX: For thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters. The Lord, who destroyed and cast down Babylon and took away its mightiest ones from power, and made all the Chaldeans who sailed prosperously on the waves of this age captives, He Himself found a way in the rushing waters of the Red Sea, so that his liberated people could cross from Egypt.
This site's exposition
who makes a way in the sea
on Isaiah 43:16-17
The LORD is named by the Red Sea crossing, who makes a way in the sea. Verse 17 recalls the other half of that crossing, the chariots and horses of Pharaoh's army. The two verses hold the whole exodus, a path for one people and ruin for the other.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
How has he led chariots and horses? It is clear that Pharaoh pursued Israel by his own decision, for God had already spoken in this way to him: "I have raised you up as to show my power in you and so that my name …
Although these things were done to the Babylonians and Chaldeans, prophetically speaking, the future things that are "not yet" shall be as if already accomplished. God has completed these by himself, comparing the present events with those that happened earlier: I showed my divinity to those in Egypt and led my people through the Red Sea. I made a way "in the mighty water" and a dry path through that same sea when I threw the chariots of Pharaoh and his forces into the sea to the bed prepared for them, sinking down to the abyss and no longer able to rise. They were like those of old who were bent like a snuffed wick in a burning flame. I worked such things among the ancients, who in turn passed on the memory of those wonders to those of old who followed. But for the present I command them no longer to be amazed at those deeds, neither those done in Babylon nor those in Egypt.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Thus says the Lord, who made a way in the sea. Here he recalls his past benefits to confirm their hope for future benefits. And concerning this, he does two things. First, he recalls his past benefits in directing them when they came out of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He that did this can, if he please, make a way for you in the sea when you return out of Babylon, and will do so rather than leave you there." Note, For the encouragement of our faith and hope, it is good for us often to remember what God has done formerly for his people against his and their enemies.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The sinners of the Gentiles, who had been as the beasts of the field, running wild, fierce as the dragons, stupid as the owls or ostriches, shall be brought to honour God for the extent of his grace to his chosen among them. He traces up all these promised blessings to their great original, the purposes and designs of his own glory (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea,....
A method taken to prepare the people for their deliverance, by putting them in mind of their sins, by which they had provoked God to send them into captivity and continue them there, that they might repent and seek to God for pardoning mercy,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thus saith the Lord - This verse contains a reference to the deliverance from Egyptian servitude - the great storehouse of argument and illustration with the sacred writers; the standing demonstration of God’s merciful interposition in behalf of their nation, and proof that he was their God. Which maketh - Whose characteristic it is to open a path of safety for his people even when deep and rapid floods are before them The standing roof of this which undoubtedly the prophet had in his eye, was the deliverance from Egypt.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֚ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַנּוֹתֵ֥ן | hanoten | who made | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בַּיָּ֖ם | baiyam | in the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| דָּ֑רֶךְ | darekh | a way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| וּבְמַ֥יִם | uvemayim | and in waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| עַזִּ֖ים | ʾazim | mighty | H5794 → | 24 times |
| נְתִיבָֽה׃ | netivah | a path | H5410 → | 26 times |
כֹּ֚הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַנּוֹתֵ֥ןwho made
hanotenH5414 →2011 times
בַּיָּ֖םin the sea
baiyamH3220 →396 times
דָּ֑רֶךְa way
darekhH1870 →707 times
וּבְמַ֥יִםand in waters
uvemayimH4325 →581 times
עַזִּ֖יםmighty
ʾazimH5794 →24 times
נְתִיבָֽה׃a path
netivahH5410 →26 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched;…
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Psalms 66:12
You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us into abundance.
- Psalms 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
- Daniel 3:25–27
“Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!”
- Isaiah 41:10
Through
Nehemiah 9:11You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:21–22
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 78:13
He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
- Exodus 14:21–22
Through
Jeremiah 31:35Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:16
The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
- Jeremiah 10:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:25; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Procopius of Gaza, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 43:14-28 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.