Isaiah 43:18 (YLT)

Passage

Remember not former things, And ancient things consider not.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 43:16 Thus said Jehovah, Who is giving in the sea a way, And in the strong waters a path.

Isaiah 43:17 Who is bringing forth chariot and horse, A force, even a strong one: `Together they lie down--they rise not, They have been extinguished, As flax they have been quenched.'

Isaiah 43:18 Remember not former things, And ancient things consider not.

Isaiah 43:19 Lo, I am doing a new thing, now it springeth up, Do ye not know it? Yea, I put in a wilderness a way, In a desolate place--floods.

Isaiah 43:20 Honour me doth the beast of the field, Dragons and daughters of an ostrich, For I have given in a wilderness waters, Floods in a desolate place, To give drink to My people--My chosen.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "remember", "former", "things", "ancient", and "consider". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "remember" and "former", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Who is bringing forth chariot and horse..." into verse 19's "Lo I am doing a new thing...", so "remember" and "former" 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 "remember" and "former" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.