Isaiah 42:9

New King James Version

Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The past events have indeed happened.Now I declare new events;I announce them to you before they occur.”

Hebrew Names Version
Behold, the former things have happened, and new things do I declare. Before they spring forth I tell you of them.

King James Version
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

English Standard Version
Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."

New American Standard Bible
"Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they sprout I proclaim them to you."

New Century Version
The things I said would happen have happened, and now I tell you about new things. Before those things happen, I tell you about them."

Amplified Bible
"Indeed, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you."

World English Bible
Behold, the former things have happened, and new things do I declare. Before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Beholde, the former thinges are come to passe, and newe things doe I declare: before they come foorth, I tell you of them.

Legacy Standard Bible
Behold, the former things have come to pass;Now I declare new things;Before they spring forth I cause you to hear them."

Berean Standard Bible
Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you."

Contemporary English Version
Everything has happened just as I said it would; now I will announce what will happen next.

Complete Jewish Bible
See how the former predictions come true; and now new things do I declare — before they sprout I tell you about them."

Darby Translation
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth will I cause you to hear them.

Easy-to-Read Version
In the past, I told you what would happen, and it happened! Now I am telling you something new, and I am telling you now, before it happens."

George Lamsa Translation
Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Good News Translation
The things I predicted have now come true. Now I will tell you of new things even before they begin to happen."

Lexham English Bible
Look! the former things have come, and I declare new things. I announce them to you before they sprout up."

Literal Translation
Behold, the former things have come to pass, and I declare new things before they happen, I cause you to hear.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
shewe you these new tidinges, and tel you them or they come, for olde thinges also are come to passe.

American Standard Version
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Bible in Basic English
See, the things said before have come about, and now I give word of new things: before they come I give you news of them.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

King James Version (1611)
Behold, the former things are come to passe, and new things doe I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Beholde olde thinges are come to passe, and newe thinges do I declare, and or euer they come I tell you of them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Behold, the ancient things have come to pass, and so will the new things which I tell you: yea, before I tell them they are made known to you.

English Revised Version
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Lo! tho thingis that weren the firste, ben comun, and Y telle newe thingis; Y schal make herd to you, bifore that tho bigynnen to be maad.

Update Bible Version
Look, the former things have come to pass, and I declare new things; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Webster's Bible Translation
Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

New English Translation
Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; now I announce new events. Before they begin to occur, I reveal them to you."

New Living Translation
Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens."

New Life Bible
See, the things told about in the past have happened. Now I speak about new things. Before they happen I will tell you about them."

New Revised Standard
See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Things told in advance, lo! they have come to pass, - And new things, am I telling, Ere yet they spring forth, I let, you, hear them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The things that were first, behold they are come: and new things do I declare: before they spring forth, I will make you hear them.

Revised Standard Version
Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."

Young's Literal Translation
The former things, lo, have come, And new things I am declaring, Before they spring up I cause you to hear.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you."

Contextual Overview

⁵ Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: ⁶ "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, ⁷ To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. ⁸ I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. ⁹ Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them." ¹⁰ Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! ¹¹ Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. ¹² Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the former: Genesis 15:12-16, Joshua 21:45, Joshua 23:14, Joshua 23:15, 1 Kings 8:15-20, 1 Kings 11:36

new things: Isaiah 41:22, Isaiah 41:23, Isaiah 43:19, Isaiah 44:7, Isaiah 44:8, Isaiah 46:9, Isaiah 46:10, John 13:19, Acts 15:18, 1 Peter 1:10-12, 2 Peter 1:19-21

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 13:2 - Josiah by name Ecclesiastes 1:11 - There is Isaiah 44:26 - confirmeth Isaiah 48:3 - declared Isaiah 48:5 - Mine idol Isaiah 48:6 - showed Isaiah 52:6 - I am he Daniel 2:22 - revealeth Daniel 9:13 - As it is Matthew 12:17 - it Matthew 13:35 - I will utter Luke 17:34 - I tell Acts 13:47 - that thou Revelation 21:5 - Behold

Cross-References

Genesis 42:5
And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 42:9
Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!"

Genesis 42:16
Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!"

Genesis 42:20
And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so.

Genesis 42:30
"The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

Genesis 42:31
But we said to him, "We are honest men; we are not spies.

Genesis 42:34
And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land."'

Exodus 32:35
So the LORD plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.

Numbers 13:2
"Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them."

Joshua 2:1
Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove [fn] to spy secretly, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Behold, the former things are come to pass,.... Which the Lord had foretold in former times, as to Abraham, concerning the affliction of his posterity in Egypt, the bringing them out from thence, and settling them in the land of Canaan; and other things by Moses and Joshua, and other prophets; and by Isaiah; and particularly the captivity of the ten tribes, which was now come to pass in the times of Hezekiah:

and new things do I declare; as the captivity of Judah and Benjamin, and their restoration by Cyrus; and more especially the mission and incarnation of Christ, his sufferings and death, and redemption and salvation by him; which were not only things to come, but new things, famous and excellent ones:

before they spring up I tell you of them or "before they bud forth" r; while the seeds of them were under ground, sown in the purposes and decrees of God, he spoke of them in prophecy; and now former prophecies being fulfilled, and new ones delivered out, concerning things of which there was no appearance, and yet there was the greatest reason to believe their accomplishment, from the fulfilment of the former; this must be a strong proof and confirmation of the Lord being the true God, and the only one.

r בטרם תצמחנה "antequam pullulent", Montanus, Cocceius; "germinent", Vatablus; "antequam propullulent vel efflorescant", Vitringa.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Behold, the former things are come to pass - That is, the former things which he had foretold. This is the evidence to which he appeals in proof that he alone was God, and this is the basis on which he calls upon them to believe that what he had predicted in regard to future things would also come to pass. He had by his prophets foretold events which had now been fulfilled, and this should lead them to confide in him alone as the true God.

And new things do I declare - Things pertaining to future events, relating to the coming of the Messiah, and to the universal prevalence of his religion in the world.

Before they spring forth - There is here a beautiful image. The metaphor is taken from plants and flowers, the word צמח tsâmach properly referring to the springing up of plants, or to their sending out shoots, buds, or flowers. The phrase literally means, ‘before they begin to germinate,’ that is, before there are any indications of life, or growth in the plant. The sense is, that God predicted the future events before there was anything by which it might be inferred that such occurrences would take place. It was not done by mere sagacity - as men like Burke and Canning may sometimes predict future events with great probability by marking certain political indications or developments. God did this when there were no such indications, and when it must have been done by mere omniscience. In this respect, all his predictions differ from the conjectures of man, and from all the reasonings which are founded on mere sagacity.