Isaiah 43:18
in Isaiah 43“Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
KJV
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
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This verse in Isaiah 43
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Plainly the future restoration of Israel is the event ultimately meant. Thus the "former things" are such events as the destruction of Sennacherib and the return from Babylon. "Things of old" are events still more ancient, the deliverance from Egypt and at the Red Sea, and entry into Canaan [VITRINGA].
This site's exposition
Do not call to mind the former things
on Isaiah 43:18-19
Do not call to mind the former things tells the exiles to stop looking back. I am about to do something new answers the future half of the challenge posed at verse 9. I will make a way in the wilderness answers the way in the sea of verse 16.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 18-19) Do not remember the former things, and do not consider the ancient things. Behold, I am doing something new, now it will spring forth; will you not know it? I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. LXX: Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it shall spring forth, shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he promises much greater future benefits. First, he shows the greatness of his future benefits by comparison to the former ones: remember not former things, as if to say: they are not worthy to be kept in memory in comparison with future things: forgetting …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Remember not - Tho' your former deliverance out of Egypt was glorious: yet in comparison of that inestimable mercy of sending the Messiah, all your former deliverances are scarce worthy of your remembrance and consideration.
Now it springs forth, as it were a surprise upon you; you are like those that dream. And will you not own God's hand in it? He promises not only to deliver them out of Babylon, but to conduct them safely and comfortably to their own land (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Remember ye not the former things,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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
Remember ye not ... - So great and wonderful shall be God’s future interpositions in your behalf, that what he has done, great as that was, shall be comparatively forgotten. The former things - The deliverance from Egypt, and the overthrow of his enemies there. The things of old - The things that were formerly done.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַֽל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּזְכְּר֖וּ | tizkeru | you remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| רִֽאשֹׁנ֑וֹת | rishonot | former [things] | H7223 → | 182 times |
| וְקַדְמֹנִיּ֖וֹת | vekadmoniyot | and ancient [things] | H6931 → | |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּתְבֹּנָֽנוּ׃ | titbonanu | you consider | H995 → | 170 times |
אַֽל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּזְכְּר֖וּyou remember
tizkeruH2142 →230 times
רִֽאשֹׁנ֑וֹתformer [things]
rishonotH7223 →182 times
וְקַדְמֹנִיּ֖וֹתand ancient [things]
vekadmoniyotH6931 →
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּתְבֹּנָֽנוּ׃you consider
titbonanuH995 →170 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 65:17For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 3:13
But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
- Isaiah 66:22
“For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, will endure before Me,” declares the LORD, “so your descendants and your name will endure.
- Revelation 21:1–5
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
- Jeremiah 3:16
“In those days, when you multiply and increase in the land,” declares the LORD, “they will no longer discuss the ark of the covenant of the LORD. It will never come to mind, and…
- 2 Peter 3:13
Through
Deuteronomy 8:2Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your…
it leads to
- James 1:3
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
- 1 Peter 1:7
so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Deuteronomy 8:16
He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble you and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper.
- Exodus 16:4
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I…
- James 1:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Isaiah

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.
