Isaiah 41:18 (GNV)

Passage

I will open riuers in the toppes of the hils, and fountaines in the middes of the valleis: I will make the wildernesse as a poole of water, and the waste land as springs of water.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:16 Thou shalt fanne them, and the winde shall carie them away, and the whirlewinde shall scatter them: and thou shalt reioyce in the Lord, and shalt glory in the holy one of Israel.

Isaiah 41:17 When the poore and the needy seeke water, and there is none (their tongue faileth for thirst: I the Lord will heare them: I the God of Israel will not forsake them)

Isaiah 41:18 I will open riuers in the toppes of the hils, and fountaines in the middes of the valleis: I will make the wildernesse as a poole of water, and the waste land as springs of water.

Isaiah 41:19 I will set in the wildernesse the cedar, the shittah tree, and the mirre tree, and the pine tree, and I will set in the wildernesse the firre tree, the elme and the boxe tree together.

Isaiah 41:20 Therefore let them see and knowe, and let them consider and vnderstande together that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the holy one of Israel hath created it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "open", "riuers", "toppes", "hils", "fountaines", "middes", "valleis", and "make". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "open" and "riuers", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "When the poore and the needy seeke..." into verse 19's "I will set in the wildernesse the...", so "open" and "riuers" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "open" and "riuers" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.