We arrive at one of the great turning points in all of Scripture. After thirty-nine chapters of judgment, warning, and exile-foretelling, the prophet's voice shifts dramatically to consolation. God commands that His people be comforted — their warfare is ended, their iniquity pardoned. A voice cries out to prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness. The chapter sweeps from the frailty of humanity ('all flesh is grass') to the immeasurable greatness of God who weighs mountains in scales and sits above the circle of the earth, reducing princes to nothing. It culminates in the promise that those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength and mount up with wings like eagles.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
Verse 3 is quoted in all four Gospels as fulfilled in John the Baptist — a rare four-Gospel convergence. The phrase 'Comfort, comfort my people' uses the doubled imperative (nachamú, nachamú), a hallmark of prophetic urgency. The closing image of eagles' wings (v.31) has become one of the most beloved promises in the Bible. The cosmological language of vv.12-26 anticipates the divine speeches in Job.
Translation Friction
The KJV's 'comfort ye, comfort ye' preserves the Hebrew doubling but sounds archaic. We retain the doubled imperative as 'Comfort, comfort' for its rhetorical force. The Hebrew chug ha'aretz (v.22, circle of the earth) has generated much discussion; we render it straightforwardly. The shift from plural imperatives (vv.1-2) to a singular voice (v.3) to the prophet's own voice (v.6) creates a dramatic polyphony we preserve through line breaks.
Connections
Verse 3 is cited in Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4-6, and John 1:23. 'All flesh is grass' echoes in 1 Peter 1:24-25. The incomparability of God (vv.18-26) parallels Romans 11:33-36. 'Wings like eagles' recalls Exodus 19:4 and Deuteronomy 32:11. The chapter inaugurates the 'Book of Consolation' (chs. 40-66) and forms the theological foundation for the Servant Songs to follow.
Isaiah 40:1
נַחֲמ֥וּ נַחֲמ֖וּ עַמִּ֑י יֹאמַ֖ר אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
KJV Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God,
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
נַחֲמוּnachamú
"comfort"—to comfort, console, have compassion, be moved to pity
Doubled imperative preserved; the repetition signals divine urgency and marks the great tonal shift of the book from judgment to consolation
Translator Notes
The doubled imperative nachamú nachamú is a plural command — God addresses His heavenly council or the prophets collectively, commanding them to bring comfort to Israel. This opening word sets the tone for chapters 40-66.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem
and cry out to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned —
for she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.
KJV Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
צְבָאָהּtseva'ah
"warfare"—warfare, hard service, appointed time, military campaign
Rendered 'warfare' to capture both military and covenantal dimensions of Israel's suffering in exile
Translator Notes
'Speak to the heart of Jerusalem' (al-lev) is an idiom meaning to speak tenderly or persuasively. 'Double for all her sins' does not mean excessive punishment but full, complete payment — the debt is settled.
A voice cries out:
'In the wilderness, prepare the way of the LORD;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.'
KJV The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
קוֹל קוֹרֵאqol qore'
"a voice cries out"—a voice calling, crying out, proclaiming
The syntax allows 'a voice cries in the wilderness' or 'a voice cries: in the wilderness prepare'; we follow the latter, aligning with the MT punctuation
Translator Notes
The Masoretic accentuation links 'in the wilderness' with 'prepare the way' rather than with 'a voice cries.' The LXX and all four Gospels connect 'wilderness' with the voice itself. We follow the MT punctuation but note the NT reading. This verse is quoted in Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, and John 1:23.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
KJV Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The imagery is of ancient road-building for a royal procession. God Himself is the approaching king for whom the highway is prepared. The leveling of terrain is both literal (return from exile) and spiritual (removal of obstacles to God's coming).
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
KJV And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
'All flesh' (kol-basar) encompasses all humanity, not Israel alone. The revelation of God's glory is universal in scope. 'The mouth of the LORD has spoken' is a prophetic authentication formula.
A voice says, 'Cry out!'
And I said, 'What shall I cry?'
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
KJV The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
חָצִירchatsir
"grass"—grass, herbage, green plant
The metaphor of grass for human frailty is universal in Hebrew poetry (cf. Psalm 103:15); the quick-withering grass of the Judean hills makes the image vivid
Translator Notes
The prophet now speaks in first person — 'What shall I cry?' The Hebrew chesed here means 'beauty' or 'comeliness' rather than its more common meaning of 'steadfast love.' The LXX reads 'glory of man.' 1 Peter 1:24 quotes this passage.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
KJV The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Ruach here is 'breath' or 'wind' rather than 'Spirit' — the hot desert wind (sirocco) that scorches vegetation overnight. The frailty of human life under divine breath becomes the foil for the permanence of God's word in the next verse.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
KJV The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The repetition from v.7 creates a refrain, but now pivots to the contrasting permanence of God's word. This verse is quoted in 1 Peter 1:25. The phrase yaqum le'olam means literally 'will rise/stand to eternity.'
Go up on a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news.
Lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the cities of Judah,
'Behold your God!'
KJV O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
מְבַשֶּׂרֶתmevasseret
"herald of good news"—bearer of good news, herald, evangelist
Feminine participle — Zion herself is the herald. The root b-s-r gives us the concept behind the Greek euangelion (gospel)
Translator Notes
The feminine participle mevasseret can mean 'Zion who brings good news' or 'one who brings good news to Zion.' We follow the reading where Zion is the herald, as the grammar more naturally supports. The root b-s-r (to bring good news) is the Hebrew precursor to the NT concept of 'gospel.'
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and His arm rules for Him;
behold, His reward is with Him,
and His recompense before Him.
KJV Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The double hinneh (behold) emphasizes the dramatic arrival. God comes as both warrior (with might) and shepherd (v.11). His 'reward' and 'recompense' refer to the redeemed people He brings with Him. Cf. Isaiah 62:11 and Revelation 22:12.
He will tend His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs in His arms
and carry them close to His heart;
He will gently lead those that are nursing.
KJV He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The juxtaposition with v.10 is stunning: the arm (zero'a) that rules now gathers lambs. 'In his bosom' (becheiqo) means pressed against the chest. This verse anticipates Jesus' self-identification as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). 'Those that are nursing' (alot) refers to ewes with young — God's care extends to the most vulnerable.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
and enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
KJV Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
A sequence of rhetorical questions begins here (vv.12-14, 18, 21, 25-26, 28) — all expecting the answer 'only God.' The scale is staggering: the entire ocean fits in God's cupped hand; the cosmos spans His outstretched fingers. This cosmological hymn parallels Job 38-41.
Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,
or as His counselor has instructed Him?
KJV Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Paul quotes this verse in Romans 11:34 and 1 Corinthians 2:16 to affirm the unsearchable nature of God's wisdom. Here ruach likely means 'mind' or 'Spirit' — no one has shaped God's thinking.
With whom did He take counsel and who gave Him understanding?
Who taught Him the path of justice,
or taught Him knowledge,
or showed Him the way of understanding?
KJV With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The four-fold question intensifies the incomparability of God. Unlike pagan deities who needed councils, the LORD requires no advisor. Mishpat (justice/judgment) here refers to the right ordering of creation.
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket
and are counted as dust on the scales;
behold, He takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
KJV Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Mar middeli — a drop clinging to the outside of a bucket, not even a full drop. The nations that seem so powerful are negligible before God. 'Coastlands' (iyyim) refers to distant maritime peoples, the edges of the known world.
Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor its beasts for a burnt offering.
KJV And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Lebanon's vast cedar forests and abundant wildlife would be insufficient for an offering worthy of this God. The point is not that God demands enormous sacrifices but that no human offering could match His greatness.
All the nations are as nothing before Him;
they are counted by Him as less than nothing and emptiness.
KJV All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Hebrew escalates from 'ayin (nothing) to efes (zero/end) to tohu (formlessness, the same word used for the primordial chaos in Genesis 1:2). Nations are not just small — they approach non-existence before God.
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness will you compare to Him?
KJV To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This question launches the first idol polemic of Second Isaiah (vv.18-20), a theme that will intensify in chapters 41, 44, and 46. The incomparability question is devastating: after vv.12-17, the answer is obvious.
An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
KJV The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The prophet's tone shifts to biting satire. The process of idol-making is described in deliberate, mundane detail: casting, overlaying, chaining. The god must be chained down lest it topple — a withering commentary on its powerlessness.
He who is too poor for such an offering
chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not totter.
KJV He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Even the poor person tries to make the best idol possible — choosing durable wood, hiring a skilled craftsman — all so the idol 'will not totter.' The irony is thick: the idol's greatest achievement is simply not falling over.
Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood
from the foundations of the earth?
KJV Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Four rhetorical questions hammer the point: this knowledge is available, ancient, and foundational. 'From the foundations of the earth' (mosedot ha'aretz) means both 'since the earth was founded' and 'from the very structure of creation.'
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in.
KJV It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
חוּגchug
"circle"—circle, circuit, vault, horizon-dome
Rendered 'circle' following KJV; the term suggests the dome or horizon-circle of the visible sky meeting the earth
Translator Notes
Chug can mean circle, sphere, or vault. It describes the visible horizon where sky meets earth. God sits enthroned above it all. The tent imagery is striking — the entire cosmos is God's dwelling, stretched out as easily as a nomad pitches a tent.
He brings princes to nothing
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
KJV That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Rozenim (princes/nobles) and shofetei eretz (judges/rulers of the earth) represent the highest human authority. God reduces them to 'ayin (nothing) and tohu (emptiness/chaos) — the same vocabulary used of the nations in v.17.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when He blows on them and they wither,
and the storm carries them away like stubble.
KJV Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The triple af bal (scarcely/not even) creates a breathless rhythm: they barely exist before God's breath (nashaf) undoes them. The image echoes the grass metaphor of vv.6-8 but applied specifically to earthly rulers.
'To whom then will you liken Me,
that I should be his equal?'
says the Holy One.
KJV To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Now God Himself speaks in first person, repeating the question of v.18. 'The Holy One' (Qadosh) stands alone here without 'of Israel,' emphasizing God's absolute transcendence.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of His might
and because He is strong in power,
not one is missing.
KJV Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
'These' refers to the stars — God musters them like a commander calling roll. Each star has a name; not one fails to answer. The implied argument: if God knows every star by name, how can Israel say He has forgotten them? This sets up vv.27-31.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
'My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God'?
KJV Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The double naming 'Jacob/Israel' addresses the entire covenant community. Their complaint — that God neither sees their suffering nor acts on their behalf — is the very thing this entire chapter refutes. Mishpati (my justice/right) suggests they feel God owes them vindication.
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
His understanding is unsearchable.
KJV Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
אֱלֹהֵי עוֹלָםElohei olam
"the everlasting God"—God of eternity, the eternal God, God of the ages
This divine title emphasizes God's existence beyond time — He who never began and never ends
Translator Notes
Elohei olam (everlasting God) echoes Genesis 21:33 where Abraham calls on this name. The God who does not faint (yi'af) or grow weary (yiga') is contrasted with youths who do (v.30). 'No searching' (ein cheqer) of His understanding means it is literally bottomless.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might He increases strength.
KJV He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The paradox of divine power: the God who never tires (v.28) gives His strength to those who are exhausted. The Hebrew ein onim (no might) describes total depletion — and that is precisely where God meets them.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted.
KJV Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The strongest humans — youths in their prime — still collapse. The repetition of yi'afu (faint) and yig'u (weary) from v.28 is deliberate: what God never experiences, even the best of humanity cannot avoid.
But those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
KJV But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Notes & Key Terms
2 terms
Key Terms
קוֹיֵqovei
"those who wait upon"—to wait for, hope, expect, look eagerly for
'Wait upon' captures both patient endurance and active expectation — not passive resignation but trust held taut like a cord
יַחֲלִיפוּyachalifu
"renew"—to change, exchange, renew, replace
Literally 'exchange' — they trade their exhaustion for God's strength
Translator Notes
Qavah means to wait with taut expectation, like a rope pulled tight. Yachalifu literally means 'exchange' — they trade their depleted human strength for God's inexhaustible power. The descending sequence (fly, run, walk) is theologically profound: the sustained daily walk of faithfulness requires more enduring grace than the dramatic moment of soaring. This verse has become one of the most memorized in all of Scripture.