And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

ISAIAH 42:16KJV
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Isaiah 42:16 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 42:16 mean?

Isaiah 42:16 presents God as a guide who takes responsibility for people unable to find their own way. God promises to bring them through unfamiliar territory, remove obstacles from their path, and stay with them through the journey.

God is the speaker in this verse. The picture of blindness makes the need for a guide especially vivid: the travelers cannot see where to go, yet the route is also unfamiliar to them. After the dramatic changes to the land in verse 15, the picture turns to a journey made possible by God.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 42:16

  • “lead” — דָּרַךְ (dārakh): This word can mean to tread or walk on a path. Here, it is used for leading others along paths, fitting the picture of a guide traveling with them.
  • “crooked things” — מַעֲקַשִּׁים (maʿaqashshim): This word refers to uneven or rough places. Alongside “straight,” it suggests a difficult route being made easier to travel.

Why Isaiah 42:16 matters

  • The verse places the action with God rather than with the travelers. The repeated “I will” runs through the promise, from bringing and leading to making the route passable.
  • “Blind” also has a wider setting in the passage. Isaiah 42:18–20 speaks of people who are called blind and deaf despite having eyes and ears, using those images for a failure to recognize what is happening.

Where else these words appear

“darkness” Hebrew H4285 · used in 7 verses

  • Psalms 74:20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
  • Psalms 88:18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
  • Isaiah 29:15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

“blind” Hebrew H5787 · used in 23 verses

  • Exodus 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
  • 2 Samuel 5:8 And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.
  • Isaiah 42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant?

“straight” Hebrew H4334 · used in 23 verses

  • Deuteronomy 3:10 All the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
  • 1 Kings 20:23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
  • Psalms 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

“paths” Hebrew H5410 · used in 26 verses

  • Judges 5:6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.
  • Psalms 78:50 He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
  • Proverbs 8:20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: