Isaiah 43:16 (KJV)

Passage

Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

Nearby Context

Isaiah 43:14 Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

Isaiah 43:15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.

Isaiah 43:16 Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

Isaiah 43:17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.

Isaiah 43:18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thus", "saith", "lord", "maketh", "path", "mighty", and "waters". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thus" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "I am the LORD your Holy One..." into verse 17's "Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse...", so "thus" and "saith" 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 "thus" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.