The Meaning of Isaiah 65:17 Explained

Isaiah 65:17

KJV: For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

YLT: For, lo, I am creating new heavens, and a new earth, And the former things are not remembered, Nor do they ascend on the heart.

Darby: For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

ASV: For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For, behold, I create  new  heavens  and a new  earth:  and the former  shall not be remembered,  nor come  into mind. 

What does Isaiah 65:17 Mean?

Study Notes

behold
Isaiah 65:17 looks beyond the kingdom-age to the new heavens and the new earth (see refs. at "create"), but Isaiah 65:18-25 describe the kingdom-age itself. Longevity is restored, but death, the "last enemy" 1 Corinthians 15:26 is not destroyed till after Satan's rebellion at the end of the thousand years. Revelation 20:7-14 .

Verse Meaning

This verse is an overview of what follows. God announced, in substantiation of everything He had said since Isaiah 56:1, that He would create a restored and renovated universe (cf. Genesis 1:1). Things will be so much better than they are now that people then will not even think about things as they used to be (cf. Romans 6:14; Revelation 21:4). This should motivate God"s people to obey Him in the present. Not only would God perform another Exodus , bringing Israel out of Babylon and into the Promised Land, but He would also create another Creation. Watts, who understood chapters40-66 of Isaiah to refer only to the Jews" return to Palestine following the Exile, believed that the renovation in view is not eschatological or worldwide but restricted to Jerusalem and Judah. [1]
Isaiah described the future in general terms as "a new heaven and a new earth." In the New Testament, we have further particularization of what this will involve: the making of all things new for those in Christ presently ( Galatians 2:20), the millennial kingdom ( Revelation 20:4-6), and the "eternal state" ( 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1). Thus Isaiah"s use of "new heavens and a new earth" is not identical with the Apostle John"s ( Revelation 21:1). What Isaiah wrote about this new creation is true of various segments of it at various stages in the future; it is not all a description of what John identified as "new heavens and a new earth," namely: the eternal state.
"The designation new heavens and a new earth is applied to the Millennial kingdom only as a stage preliminary to the eternal glories of heaven (the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21; Revelation 22)-just as Pentecost was to be regarded ( Acts 2:17) as ushering in the "last days," although it occurred at least nineteen centuries before the Second Advent." [2]

Context Summary

Isaiah 65:13-25 - A New Earth For God's Servants
Notice the wide difference that religion makes to the soul. The children of God are secured against the evils which visit all others. They eat; they drink; they rejoice; they sing; they are called by another name, Isaiah 65:13-15.
Behold a new creation, Isaiah 65:17-25! The present dispensation is ended. Jerusalem, restored to her former glory, sings for very joy; and her rejoicing sends a thrill of joy through the nature of God. Long years of life and security of tenure are granted again to man. The red rapine of the forest is ended, for creation is emancipated from its bondage and participates in the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Peace shall reign in the forest glades, never again to abdicate her throne, Isaiah 65:25. But, best of all, there shall be such unity between man and God that prayer will be anticipated, and the pleading soul shall be conscious of the listening ear of God. Hasten, O day of days, for which creation groans, and the saints groan with inexpressible desire! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 65

1  The calling of the Gentiles,
2  and the rejection of the Jews, for their incredulity, idolatry, and hypocrisy
8  A remnant shall be saved
11  Judgments on the wicked, and blessings on the godly
17  The blessed state of the new Jerusalem

What do the individual words in Isaiah 65:17 mean?

For behold I create heavens new and a earth new and not shall be remembered the former or come to mind
כִּֽי־ הִנְנִ֥י בוֹרֵ֛א שָׁמַ֥יִם חֲדָשִׁ֖ים וָאָ֣רֶץ חֲדָשָׁ֑ה וְלֹ֤א תִזָּכַ֙רְנָה֙ הָרִ֣אשֹׁנ֔וֹת וְלֹ֥א תַעֲלֶ֖ינָה עַל־ לֵֽב

הִנְנִ֥י  behold 
Parse: Interjection, first person common singular
Root: הֵן  
Sense: behold, lo, though hypothetical part.
בוֹרֵ֛א  I  create 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בָּרָא 
Sense: to create, shape, form.
שָׁמַ֥יִם  heavens 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
חֲדָשִׁ֖ים  new 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: חָדָשׁ  
Sense: new, new thing, fresh.
וָאָ֣רֶץ  and  a  earth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
חֲדָשָׁ֑ה  new 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: חָדָשׁ  
Sense: new, new thing, fresh.
וְלֹ֤א  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תִזָּכַ֙רְנָה֙  shall  be  remembered 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
הָרִ֣אשֹׁנ֔וֹת  the  former 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine plural
Root: רִאשֹׁון  
Sense: first, primary, former.
תַעֲלֶ֖ינָה  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
לֵֽב  mind 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.