ISAIAH 48:6

  Q: What is encompassed by the “new things” to be revealed? Salvation to the Gentiles (49:6)? The Messiah?

The whole verse says: “From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.” So one place to look for the answer is in the verses that closely follow this pronouncement. The most likely suspect is found in verse 20 where God announces that the time of Israel's exile in Babylon will soon come to an end (due to the Persian conquest) and they will be able to return to the Promised Land. This is the interpretation of the “new things” according to two study Bibles and five commentaries I consulted.

The Jerusalem Bible felt that the “new things” referred to all of Isaiah's prophecies in chapters 40-66, the so-called Book of Consolation. However, this understanding does not really fit the statement that the new things will follow Isaiah 48:6b.

This passage occurs near the end of the first section of the Book of Consolation, which has the commonly accepted divisions of chapters 40-48, 49-57 and 58-66. Thus, it is possible that the new things include chapters 49-57 (which focus on the Suffering Messiah) and chapters 58-66 (which contain two of the three mentions of “Holy Spirit” in the Old Testament and approximately half of the references to God's spirit in Isaiah). Thus, the “new things” are nothing less than a revelation of the Trinity (since chapters 40-48 concentrate exclusively on the mighty deeds of God the Father).

Rikk E. Watts partially confirms this last understanding by asserting that Isaiah in this passage is referring primarily to chapters 49-57 predicting the coming of Jesus who would die for Israel's sins.. (Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, pp. 205-6)