Isaiah 40

Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 700 BC – 539 BC · Exile in Babylon · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·

31 verses · 752 words · ~4 min read · ~5 min listen

Prepare the Way for the LORD

Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20; John 1:19–28

¹“Comfort, comfort My people,”

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.”

³A voice of one calling:

“Prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness;

make a straight highway for our God in the desert.

⁴Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill made low;

the uneven ground will become smooth,

and the rugged land a plain.

⁵And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all humanity together will see it.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Enduring Word

1 Peter 1:22–25

⁶A voice says, “Cry out!”

And I asked, “What should I cry out?”

“All flesh is like grass,

and all its glory like the flowers of the field.

⁷The grass withers and the flowers fall

when the breath of the Lord blows on them;

indeed, the people are grass.

⁸The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God stands forever.”

Here Is Your God!

Romans 11:33–36

⁹Go up on a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news.

Raise your voice loudly,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news.

Lift it up,

do not be afraid!

Say to the cities of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

¹⁰Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

and His arm establishes His rule.

His reward is with Him,

and His recompense accompanies Him.

¹¹He 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.

¹²Who 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?

¹³Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,

or informed Him as His counselor?

¹⁴Whom 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?

¹⁵Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are considered a speck of dust on the scales;

He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

¹⁶Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel,

nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.

¹⁷All the nations are as nothing before Him;

He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.

¹⁸To whom will you liken God?

To what image will you compare Him?

¹⁹To an idol that a craftsman casts

and a metalworker overlays with gold

and fits with silver chains?

²⁰One lacking such an offering

who chooses wood that will not rot.

He seeks a skilled craftsman

to set up an idol that will not topple.

²¹Do 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?

²²He 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.

²³He brings the princes to nothing

and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.

²⁴No 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.

²⁶Lift 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.

²⁷Why do you say, O Jacob,

and why do you assert, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

and my claim is ignored by my God”?

²⁸Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary;

His understanding is beyond searching out.

²⁹He gives power to the faint

and increases the strength of the weak.

³⁰Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall.

³¹But those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength;

they will mount up with wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not faint.

Footnotes (10)

a v3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the LORD
b v3 LXX make straight the paths of our God; cited in Matthew 3:3,Mark 1:3,Luke 3:4,and John 1:23
c v4 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 v5 Literally and all flesh together will see it. Cited in Luke 3:6
e v8 Cited in 1 Peter 1:24–25
f v9 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 v13 Or mind of the LORD; see also LXX.
h v13 Cited in Romans 11:34and 1 Corinthians 2:16
i v15 Or coastlands
j v23 Or judges

Study notes on this chapter · 3

Prophecy & fulfillmentLinked by the New Testament

A voice in the wilderness

'In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD.' All four gospels identify this voice with John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus. Mark also joins it with Malachi 3:1.

When: Spoken to comfort exiles in Babylon (dating of Isaiah 40–66 is debated: c. 700 BC or c. 540 BC); John's ministry c. AD 27–29.

Original passageIsaiah 40:3Malachi 3:1

Where the New Testament applies itMatthew 3:1–3Mark 1:2–4Luke 3:3–6John 1:23Matthew 11:10

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

QuotationLinked by the New Testament

The grass withers but the word of the Lord endures

Isaiah contrasts human frailty with the enduring word of God. Peter quotes it to show that the word which has been preached to the readers is the imperishable seed by which they were born again.

When: Isaiah, c. 700–540 BC; 1 Peter, c. AD 60–65.

Original passageIsaiah 40:6–8

Where the New Testament applies it1 Peter 1:23–25

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

Prophecy & fulfillmentWidely held reading

A new exodus

Isaiah and Hosea describe Israel's return from exile in the language of the Exodus: a highway in the wilderness, water in the desert, and being led by the LORD. Many scholars see the New Testament drawing on this new-exodus theme: Mark opens with Isaiah 40, and Luke says Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah about his 'departure' (Greek exodos) at Jerusalem.

When: Isaiah, c. 700–540 BC; the gospels, c. AD 60–95.

Original passageIsaiah 43:16–21Isaiah 40:3–5Hosea 2:14–15

Echoed inMark 1:2–3Luke 9:30–31

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

See all prophecy & fulfillment notes →

Isaiah 40

Prepare the Way for the LORDⓘ

The Enduring Wordⓘ

Here Is Your God!ⓘ

Study notes on this chapter · 3

A voice in the wilderness

The grass withers but the word of the Lord endures

A new exodus

Prepare the Way for the LORD

The Enduring Word

Here Is Your God!