Isaiah 40:1-26

Prepare the Way for the LORD

1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” ¹ says your God.

2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”

3 A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; ^[a] make a straight highway for our God in the desert. ^[b]

4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. ^[c]

5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.” ^[d] For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

The Enduring Word

6 A voice says, “Cry out!” ² And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.

7 The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.

8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” ^[e]

Here Is Your God!

9 Go up on a high mountain, ³ O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, ^[f] do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.

11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?

13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, ^[g] or informed Him as His counselor? ^[h]

14 Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding?

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands ^[i] like fine dust.

16 Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.

17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.

18 To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?

19 To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

20 One lacking such an offering chooses wood that will not rot. He seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.

21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?

22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

23 He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers ^[j] of the earth meaningless.

24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.

25 “To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 40:1-26 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 40

This chapter treats of the comforts of God's people; of the forerunner and coming of the Messiah; of his work, and the dignity of his person; of the folly of making idols, and of the groundless complaints of the church of God. The consolations of God's people, by whom to be administered, and the matter, ground, and reason of them, Isa 40:1,2. John the Baptist, the harbinger of Christ, is described by his work and office, and the effects of it; it issuing in the humiliation of some, and the exaltation of others, and in the revelation of the glory of Christ, Isa 40:3-5, then follows an order to every minister of the Gospel what he should preach and publish; the weakness and insufficiency of men to anything that is spiritually good; their fading and withering goodliness, which is to be ascribed to the blowing of the Spirit of God upon it; and the firmness and constancy of the word of God is declared, Isa 40:6-8, next the apostles of Christ in Jerusalem are particularly exhorted to publish fervently and openly the good tidings of the Gospel; to proclaim the coming of Christ, the manner of it, and the work he came about; and to signify his faithful discharge of his office as a shepherd, Isa 40:9-11, the dignity of whose person is set forth by his almighty power, by his infinite wisdom, and by the greatness of his majesty, in comparison of which all nations and things are as nothing, Isa 40:12-17 and then the vanity of framing any likeness to God, and of forming idols for worship, is observed, Isa 40:18-25, and from the consideration of the divine power in creation and upholding all things, the church of God is encouraged to expect renewed strength and persevering grace, and is blamed for giving way to a distrustful and murmuring spirit, Isa 40:26-31.

Cross References

• 1. (Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20; John 1:19–28)
• 2. (1 Peter 1:22–25)
• 3. (Romans 11:33–36)

Footnotes

• [a]. Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the LORD
• [b]. LXX make straight the paths of our God; cited in Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, and John 1:23
• [c]. LXX Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low. All the crooked ways shall become straight, and the rough places plains. Cited in Luke 3:5
• [d]. Literally and all flesh together will see it.” Cited in Luke 3:6
• [e]. Cited in 1 Peter 1:24–25
• [f]. Or O herald of good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. O herald of good news to Jerusalem, lift it up,
• [g]. Or mind of the LORD; see also LXX.
• [h]. Cited in Romans 11:34 and 1 Corinthians 2:16
• [i]. Or coastlands
• [j]. Or judges