“Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Don’t remember the former things, and don’t consider the things of old.
- KJV Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
- NKJV “Donot remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.
- NASB “Do not call to mind the former things, Or consider things of the past.
- NLT “But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God tells His people not to dwell on former things or the things of old. It calls them to look ahead to the new work He is about to do.
Overview
Having just recalled the Exodus, God now redirects attention from past deliverances to a coming greater one. The point is not to forget history but not to let it eclipse God's fresh saving act. This anticipation of something new ultimately finds fulfillment in the new covenant inaugurated by Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 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.
- 2 Cor 3:10Indeed, what was once glorious has no glory now in comparison to the glory that surpasses it.
- 1 Chr 16:12Remember the wonders He has done, His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,
- Deut 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 heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.
- Isa 46:9Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.
- Jer 16:14–15Yet behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’
- Deut 7:18But do not be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt:
- Jer 23:7–8So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 43:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.