16-21 This is what God says,

the God who builds a road right through the ocean,

who carves a path through pounding waves,

The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—

they lie down and then can’t get up;

they’re snuffed out like so many candles:

"Forget about what’s happened;

don’t keep going over old history.

Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.

It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?

There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,

rivers in the badlands.

Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’

—the coyotes and the buzzards—

Because I provided water in the desert,

rivers through the sunbaked earth,

Drinking water for the people I chose,

the people I made especially for myself,

a people custom-made to praise me.