40
Isaiah

Comfort for Zion and the Majesty of God

Isaiah 40:1-31
1Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her, for her warfare is ended, for her iniquity is pardoned, for she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. 3A voice is calling in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD; smooth in the Arabah a highway for our God. 4Every valley shall be raised, and every mountain and hill shall be abased, and the steep shall become a plain and the roughness a valley. 5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. 6A voice says, "Call." And he said, "What shall I call? All the flesh is grass, and all its kindness is like the flower of the land. 7The grass withers, the flower withers, for the Spirit of the LORD blew upon it; surely the people are grass. 8The grass withers, the flower withers, but the word of our God stands forever." 9Upon a high mountain ascend, you bearer of good tidings of Zion; raise in strength your voice, bearer of good tidings of Jerusalem; raise, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God. 10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with strength, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11Like a shepherd he pastures his flock; in his arm he gathers lambs, and in his bosom he carries them; he gently leads those who are nursing." 12Who 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? 13Who measured the Spirit of the LORD, and the man of his counsel makes him known? 14With whom did he take counsel, and who made him understand? Who taught him the way of justice, and taught him knowledge, and made known to him the way of understanding? 15Look, nations are like a drop from a bucket, and like dust on the scales they are reckoned; look, coastlands he lifts like fine dust. 16Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor are its animals sufficient for a burnt offering. 17All the nations are as nothing before him; they are regarded by him as less than nothing and emptiness. 18And to whom will you liken God, and what likeness will you arrange to him? 19The craftsman casts the idol, and the refiner overlays it with gold and casts silver chains for it. 20The one too poor for such an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks for himself a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not totter. 21Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood the foundations of the earth? 22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like locusts; he who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them like a tent to dwell in. 23He brings rulers to nothing; he makes the judges of the earth like emptiness. 24Hardly are they planted, hardly are they sown, hardly has their stock taken root in the earth, when he blows on them and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25"To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him?" says the Holy One. 26Lift up your eyes on high and see who created these, the one who brings out their host by number; he calls them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. 27Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel: "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"? 28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God is the LORD, creator of the ends of the earth; he does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29He gives strength to the weary, and to the one without might he increases power. 30Even youths faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall. 31But those who wait for 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.

Key words in this passage

Cross-references

Study notes

Comfort reaches Jerusalem only after the claim that she has already paid double for her sins, yet the chapter quickly moves from that pardon to the demand that a highway be prepared so all flesh may see the LORD's glory. The same voice that declares human constancy as fleeting as grass insists that the divine word alone stands. Questions about who measured the waters or counseled the LORD reduce nations to a drop and expose idols as the work of human hands. Against Jacob's charge that his way lies hidden, the text sets the everlasting God who neither faints nor grows weary and who renews strength for those who wait.

What is Comfort for Zion and the Majesty of God about?

The chapter opens with a direct command to comfort the people, followed by the instruction to speak to Jerusalem that her warfare has ended and her iniquity is pardoned. A voice then calls for preparation of a highway in the wilderness so that the glory of the LORD may be revealed to all flesh. Another voice asks what message to proclaim and receives the answer that all flesh is grass that withers when the spirit of the LORD blows upon it, though the word of God stands forever.

The text shifts to a messenger on a high mountain who is told to say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God," and then describes the Lord coming with strength yet also pasturing his flock like a shepherd. Questions follow about who measured the waters, marked off the heavens, and weighed the mountains, questions that lead to the claim that nations are like a drop from a bucket and that no likeness can be made for God.

The central tension surfaces when Jacob and Israel ask why their way is hidden from the LORD and their right disregarded. The verses matter here because they place that complaint immediately after the announcement of exile and set it against the repeated insistence that the everlasting God neither faints nor grows weary and gives strength to those who wait for him.

Where does this passage sit in Isaiah?

Chapter 39 closes with Isaiah telling Hezekiah that everything in his palace will one day be carried to Babylon. Chapter 40 opens by commanding that comfort be spoken to the same people whose future has just been placed under that sentence. The transition therefore moves the reader from the record of failed alliances and announced deportation into a sustained address of reassurance that occupies the next sixteen chapters.

The opening imperatives stand in direct sequence with the final oracle of the preceding section. Where chapter 39 had reported the word of the LORD through Isaiah concerning the treasures and the descendants, chapter 40 begins with the LORD addressing his own people and directing that their warfare is ended. The same divine voice that had announced judgment now issues the first of several commands to proclaim pardon.

Voices multiply in the new chapter. One calls for a highway in the wilderness; another asks what message to deliver and receives the answer that flesh is grass. These exchanges continue the pattern of prophetic dialogue already visible in earlier sections, yet they redirect the content from exposure of sin to announcement of return. The repeated claim that the word of God stands forever recalls earlier statements that human schemes collapse, but now attaches that permanence to the promise rather than to the threat.

The chapter also introduces the extended treatment of idols that runs through the following oracles. The questions about likenesses and the descriptions of craftsmen appear here for the first time in this concentrated form, setting the terms for the later confrontations with Babylon’s gods. At the same time the closing lines about renewed strength for those who wait prepare the reader for the repeated summons to trust that will mark the material ahead.

How is the passage structured?

The chapter opens with two imperatives addressed to unnamed hearers, directing them to comfort the people and to speak to Jerusalem’s heart about the end of her warfare and the pardon of her iniquity. A new voice then interrupts from the wilderness, issuing commands to prepare a highway so that the glory of the LORD may appear before all flesh. That announcement stands without immediate fulfillment; instead, another exchange follows in which one speaker is told to call and responds by asking what message to deliver. The reply shifts the focus to the withering of grass and the endurance of the divine word.

From this point the text moves to a public proclamation. A messenger is positioned on a high mountain and instructed to declare to the cities of Judah that their God is present, first as a powerful ruler whose arm governs and whose recompense arrives with him, then as a shepherd who gathers and leads the flock. The description halts when a series of questions begins: who measured the waters, marked the heavens, or weighed the mountains? These questions receive no direct answer; they are followed by further questions about the spirit of the LORD and about any counselor who might have instructed him.

The questions give way to assertions that nations amount to a drop from a bucket and that Lebanon’s forests and animals cannot supply an adequate offering. A fresh question asks to whom God can be likened, after which the text describes the making of idols from cast metal or from wood chosen by the poor. Another set of questions returns to what has been known and heard from the beginning, now answered by the picture of God seated above the circle of the earth, stretching out the heavens, and reducing rulers to nothing.

A direct address to Jacob and Israel interrupts the sequence, quoting their complaint that their way is hidden. The final movement answers that complaint by repeating the earlier questions about knowledge and hearing, then stating that the everlasting God gives strength to the weary and that those who wait for him will renew their strength and not faint.

What is the historical background?

The command to speak to the heart of Jerusalem draws on an ancient Near Eastern idiom for addressing someone with words meant to reach the inner person and change resolve. Similar phrasing appears in diplomatic and prophetic appeals where a messenger seeks to move a city or ruler from despair toward renewed allegiance.

Double restitution for wrongdoing belonged to established legal custom. In cases of theft or breach of trust, ancient codes required the offender to return twice the amount taken. The text applies this standard to the accumulated penalty Jerusalem has already paid, framing the end of her warfare as the completion of that measured recompense rather than an arbitrary cancellation.

Road preparation for a deity or king followed recognizable protocol. Surveyors and work crews would fill depressions and cut through ridges so that a processional route remained level. The Arabah, the broad depression running south from the Dead Sea, supplied one such corridor; leveling it would signal the arrival of a sovereign whose coming required visible honor.

Shepherd imagery for rulers was widespread. Kings and gods alike were depicted gathering scattered flocks, carrying the young, and leading the nursing animals, gestures that combined authority with provision. The passage pairs this figure with the declaration that the Lord’s arm rules, showing the same hand that measures oceans also gathers the vulnerable.

Descriptions of idol manufacture match the actual steps used by metalworkers. A craftsman poured molten metal into a mold, then a refiner applied gold leaf and attached chains to stabilize the finished statue. Even the detail that a poorer person selects durable wood and hires a skilled carver reflects the tiered economy of cult-object production across Mesopotamia and the Levant.

The questions about measuring waters in the hollow of a hand or marking the heavens with a span echo the language of ancient surveying and cosmology. Such language assumes a world whose boundaries can be known and weighed, yet insists that no human or divine counselor assisted in setting those limits.

What does this passage teach about God?

The opening command to comfort the people rests on the prior reality that Jerusalem has already received double for her sins from the LORD's hand. Pardon here does not erase the cost of iniquity but declares that the period of warfare has reached its appointed end. The same God who measured out that recompense now directs the message of peace, showing that judgment and mercy belong to one undivided purpose.

The voice that announces the withering of all flesh under the LORD's spirit also insists that the word of our God stands forever." Human kindness and strength prove as transient as grass, yet the divine word remains the stable ground on which any future for the people can rest. This contrast places every claim about human endurance under the verdict that only what God has spoken endures.

When the text asks who measured the waters or weighed the mountains, the questions expose the impossibility of any creature advising or equaling the LORD. Nations shrink to a drop from a bucket and idols fashioned by craftsmen are exposed as unable to stand. The same God who cannot be likened to anything made nevertheless gathers lambs in his arm and gently leads those who nurse, uniting sovereign power with attentive care for the weak.

Jacob's complaint that his way is hidden therefore meets the reminder that the everlasting God does not faint. Strength is not located in youth or vigor, both of which fail, but is renewed for those who wait for the LORD. The passage thus locates human hope not in self-generated resilience but in the one who creates the ends of the earth and supplies power precisely where might has run out.

What are the interpretive difficulties?

The command in verse 2 to declare that Jerusalem has received double for all her sins raises a question about the nature of that recompense. The verse presents the double portion as already given from the LORD's hand, yet the following verses still direct preparation for a future revelation of glory. This leaves the timing of the pardon and the comfort somewhat open, with the text itself not clarifying whether the double refers to completed judgment or to an anticipated surplus of restoration.

The rapid changes among speakers create another point of attention. Verse 1 records the LORD addressing comforters, verse 3 introduces an unidentified voice in the wilderness, verse 6 records one voice directing another to call, and verse 9 sends a messenger up a mountain. The chapter supplies no further identification of these voices or any indication whether they belong to the same figure, so readers must follow the sequence of instructions without a single narrative frame tying them together.

Verses 12 through 14 pose a series of questions about measurement and counsel that receive no explicit answers inside the chapter. These questions move directly into the claim that nations count as nothing and that no idol can represent the LORD. The absence of answers keeps the emphasis on the impossibility of comparison rather than on any supplied explanation of how the measurements were performed.

Verse 27 records Jacob and Israel voicing the complaint that their way is hidden and their right disregarded. The following verses counter this claim by recalling that the everlasting God neither faints nor grows weary, yet the text does not indicate whether the complaint itself is presented as justified or mistaken. The final verses then distinguish those who wait for the LORD from youths who faint, without defining the precise actions or duration that constitute waiting in this setting.

Movement by movement

Comfort Spoken to Jerusalem40:1-2

The double imperative opens by directing unnamed speakers to comfort the people twice over, with the added clause that the command comes from their own God. The next line narrows the audience to Jerusalem itself and requires the message to reach her heart, grounding the call in three linked statements: her warfare has ended, her iniquity is pardoned, and she has already received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. The repetition of the opening verb sets the tone for reassurance, yet the reasons supplied tie that reassurance directly to a completed period of penalty rather than to an immediate change in visible circumstances. The phrasing leaves the exact timing of the pardon open, since the verses that follow still summon preparation for a future revelation of glory. At the same time the text presents the double payment as already handed out, so the comfort rests on the claim that the measured cost of past wrongdoing has reached its limit. This opening exchange therefore places the weight of the message on the LORD's own assessment of what Jerusalem has endured, without spelling out whether the double stands for past judgment alone or includes an expected surplus of restoration still to come.

The Voice Preparing the Way40:3-5

A voice calls from the wilderness itself, ordering a highway smoothed through the Arabah for the LORD. The commands extend to every valley raised and every mountain and hill abased until the steep ground lies level and the rough places form a plain. These preparations stand as the direct response to the earlier word that Jerusalem’s warfare has ended and her iniquity is pardoned. The leveling removes every obstacle that would block sight of what follows: the glory of the LORD revealed so that all flesh sees it at once. The announcement rests solely on the claim that the mouth of the LORD has spoken, without any description of the work being carried out or any timetable attached to the revelation. The same wilderness setting that receives the call also becomes the place where the highway must be made, linking the terrain directly to the promise that nothing will remain hidden when the glory appears.

Grass That Withers and the Word That Stands40:6-8

The exchange opens when one voice simply says, "Call," and the other answers by asking what message is possible. The reply identifies the entire human realm as grass whose kindness lasts no longer than a flower of the land. Verse 7 repeats the same two lines about withering, first tying the fading to the breath of the LORD and then stating outright that the people are grass. Verse 8 repeats the withering once more, then pivots to the single clause that the word of our God stands forever." This movement sits directly after the claim that all flesh will see the LORD's glory together. The repetition of withering therefore does not erase that sight but sets it against the short span of human constancy. The kindness mentioned in verse 6 is not defined further, yet the text treats it as the very thing that cannot outlast the LORD's breath. The word that remains is not described as a new announcement; it is simply set over against every fading human reality, leaving the earlier promise of comfort to rest on this single enduring foundation rather than on any strength or loyalty found in the people themselves.

Good Tidings of the Coming Lord40:9-11

The command to ascend a high mountain and lift a strong voice without fear directs the messenger to announce to Judah’s cities the arrival of their God. The repeated address to the bearer of good tidings of Zion and of Jerusalem places the proclamation on elevated ground so that the message reaches the surrounding cities. What follows is a double “behold”: the Lord GOD comes with strength and his arm rules for him, yet the same one who brings reward and recompense also pastures his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arm, carries them in his bosom, and leads those who are nursing." The pairing of ruling arm and shepherd’s care keeps the two aspects together rather than separating power from tenderness. Earlier voices had called for a highway so that glory might be seen by all flesh; this herald now points to the one whose coming fulfills that expectation. The recompense carried before him remains unspecified, leaving open whether it refers to restoration already granted or still to be displayed. The image of the nursing sheep underscores that the strength announced in verse 10 is exercised on behalf of the weakest members of the flock.

The Incomparable God and the Making of Idols40:12-20

The questions open by picturing the LORD holding the waters in the hollow of his hand and marking off the heavens with a span, then enclosing the dust of the earth in a measure and weighing the mountains in scales. They press further by asking who measured the spirit of the LORD or sat with him in counsel to teach him the way of justice. Nations shrink next to a drop from a bucket and coastlands to fine dust, while even Lebanon proves insufficient for fuel or for animals enough to serve as a burnt offering. All the nations register before him as less than nothing and emptiness. The text then asks to whom anyone will liken God and what likeness can be arranged. The answer appears in the craftsman who casts the idol, the refiner who overlays it with gold and fastens silver chains, and the man too poor for such work who chooses wood that will not rot and hires a skilled craftsman to set the figure up so it will not totter. These human actions stand beside the earlier questions without any added explanation, so the contrast between the one who measures all things and the objects shaped by hands remains the point the verses themselves place side by side.

The Everlasting God Who Renews Strength40:21-31

The questions of verse 21 turn attention to what has been known from the beginning about the foundations of the earth. The one who sits above its circle regards the inhabitants as locusts and stretches the heavens like a curtain for a dwelling. He brings rulers to nothing and makes the judges of the earth like emptiness; their planting barely takes root before he blows on them and the tempest carries them off like stubble. The same speaker who asks to whom the Holy One may be compared points upward to the stars brought out by number, each called by name, none missing through the greatness of his might and power. Jacob’s claim that his way is hidden from the LORD meets the reply that the everlasting God, creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary and that his understanding is unsearchable. He gives strength to the weary and increases power to the one without might. Youths faint and young men stumble and fall, yet those who wait for the LORD renew their strength, mount up with wings like eagles, run without growing weary, and walk without fainting.

Notes accompany the Anselm Project Bible, an AI translation from the original languages. Tap any verse above for the committee's word-level decisions.

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