Isaiah 40

The Greatness of God

1 "1Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God.
2 "2Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her 3warfare has ended, That her 4iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD'S hand 5Double for all her sins."
3 6A voice is calling, "7Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4 "Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 Then the 8glory of the LORD will be revealed, And 9all flesh will see it together; For the 10mouth of the LORD has spoken."
6 A voice says, "Call out." Then he answered, "What shall I call out?" 11All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The 12grass withers, the flower fades, When the 13breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But 14the word of our God stands forever.
9 Get yourself up on a 15high mountain, O Zion, bearer of 16good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the 17cities of Judah, "18Here is your God!"
10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come 19with might, With His 20arm ruling for Him. Behold, His 21reward is with Him And His recompense before Him.
11 Like a shepherd He will 22tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
12 Who has 23measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?
13 24Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His 25counselor * has informed Him?
14 26With whom did He consult and who 27gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the 28nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of 29dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, Nor its 30beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 31All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.
18 32To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
19 As for the 33idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith 34plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a 35tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that 36will not totter.
21 37Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood 38from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the 39circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like 40grasshoppers, Who 41stretches out the heavens like a 42curtain And spreads them out like a 43tent to dwell in.
23 He it is who reduces 44rulers to nothing, Who 45makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
24 Scarcely * have they been planted, Scarcely * have they been sown, Scarcely * has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the 46storm carries them away like stubble.
25 "47To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One.
26 48Lift up your eyes on high And see 49who has created these stars, The 50One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the 51greatness of His might and the strength of His power, 52Not one of them is missing.
27 53Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, "My way is 54hidden from the LORD, And the 55justice due me escapes the notice of 56my God "?
28 57Do you not know? Have you not heard? The 58Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is 59inscrutable *.
29 He gives strength to the 60weary, And to him who lacks might He 61increases power.
30 Though 62youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous 63young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the LORD Will 64gain new strength; They will 65mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Images for Isaiah 40

Cross References 65

  • 1. Isaiah 12:1; Isaiah 49:13; Isaiah 51:3, 12; Isaiah 52:9; Isaiah 61:2; Isaiah 66:13; Jeremiah 31:10-14; Zephaniah 3:14-17; 2 Corinthians 1:4
  • 2. Isaiah 35:4; Zechariah 1:13
  • 3. Isaiah 41:11-13; Isaiah 49:25; Isaiah 54:15, 17
  • 4. Isaiah 33:24; Isaiah 53:5, 6, 11
  • 5. Jeremiah 16:18; Zechariah 9:12; Revelation 18:6
  • 6. Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23
  • 7. Malachi 3:1; Malachi 4:5, 6
  • 8. Isaiah 6:3; Habakkuk 2:14
  • 9. Isaiah 52:10; Joel 2:28
  • 10. Isaiah 1:20; Isaiah 34:16; Isaiah 58:14
  • 11. Job 14:2; Psalms 102:11; Psalms 103:15; 1 Peter 1:24, 25
  • 12. Psalms 90:5, 6; James 1:10, 11
  • 13. Job 4:9; Job 41:21; Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 40:24
  • 14. Isaiah 55:11; Isaiah 59:21; Matthew 5:18
  • 15. Isaiah 52:7
  • 16. Isaiah 61:1
  • 17. Isaiah 44:26
  • 18. Isaiah 25:9; Isaiah 35:2
  • 19. Isaiah 9:6, 7
  • 20. Isaiah 59:16, 18
  • 21. Isaiah 62:11; Revelation 22:12
  • 22. Jeremiah 31:10; Ezek 34:12-14, 23, 31; Micah 5:4; John 10:11, 14-16
  • 23. Job 38:8-11; Psalms 102:25, 26; Isaiah 48:13; Hebrews 1:10-12
  • 24. Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 2:16
  • 25. Isaiah 41:28
  • 26. Job 38:4
  • 27. Job 21:22; Colossians 2:3
  • 28. Jeremiah 10:10
  • 29. Isaiah 17:13; Isaiah 29:5
  • 30. Psalms 50:9-11; Micah 6:6, 7; Hebrews 10:5-9
  • 31. Isaiah 29:7
  • 32. Exodus 8:10; Exodus 15:11; 1 Samuel 2:2; Isaiah 40:25; Isaiah 46:5; Micah 7:18; Acts 17:29
  • 33. Psalms 115:4-8; Isaiah 41:7; Isaiah 44:10; Habakkuk 2:18, 19
  • 34. Isaiah 2:20; Isaiah 30:22
  • 35. Isaiah 44:14
  • 36. 1 Samuel 5:3, 4; Isaiah 41:7; Isaiah 46:7
  • 37. Psalms 19:1; Psalms 50:6; Isaiah 37:26; Acts 14:17; Romans 1:19
  • 38. Isaiah 48:13; Isaiah 51:13
  • 39. Job 22:14; Proverbs 8:27
  • 40. Numbers 13:33
  • 41. Job 9:8; Isaiah 37:16; Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 44:24
  • 42. Psalms 104:2
  • 43. Job 36:29; Psalms 18:11; Psalms 19:4
  • 44. Job 12:21; Psalms 107:40; Isaiah 34:12
  • 45. Isaiah 5:21; Jeremiah 25:18-27
  • 46. Isaiah 17:13; Isaiah 41:16
  • 47. Isaiah 40:18
  • 48. Isaiah 51:6
  • 49. Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 48:12, 13
  • 50. Psalms 147:4
  • 51. Psalms 89:11-13
  • 52. Isaiah 34:16; Isaiah 48:13
  • 53. Isaiah 49:4, 14
  • 54. Isaiah 54:8
  • 55. Job 27:2; Job 34:5; Luke 18:7, 8
  • 56. Isaiah 25:1
  • 57. Isaiah 40:21
  • 58. Genesis 21:33; Psalms 90:2
  • 59. Psalms 147:5; Romans 11:33
  • 60. Isaiah 50:4; Jeremiah 31:25
  • 61. Isaiah 41:10
  • 62. Jeremiah 6:11; Jeremiah 9:21
  • 63. Isaiah 9:17
  • 64. Job 17:9; Psalms 103:5; 2 Cor 4:8-10, 16
  • 65. Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11; Luke 18:1; 2 Corinthians 4:1, 16; Galatians 6:9; Hebrews 12:3

Footnotes 29

Isaiah 40 Commentaries

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