Isaiah 40

“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.

“Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.”

The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain.

The LORD’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.”

The voice of one saying, “Cry out!” One said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades, because the LORD’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever.”

You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Don’t be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold, your God!”

Behold, the Lord GOD will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measuring basket, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Who has directed the LORD’s Spirit, or has taught him as his counselor?

Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.

Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering.

All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.

To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?

A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.

He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up a carved image for him that will not be moved.

Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth?

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 out like a tent to dwell in,

who brings princes to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

They are planted scarcely. They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.

“To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.

Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me is disregarded by my God”?

Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might.

Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall;

but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter marks a pivotal shift in Isaiah’s prophecy, transitioning from judgment to comfort. After the earlier oracles of condemnation, chapter 40 announces God’s merciful promise to comfort His people, declaring their punishment complete and their redemption imminent. It introduces a vision of divine majesty and sovereign power, setting the stage for the unfolding revelation of God’s saving glory, which will be made known through the coming of the Lord and the proclamation of His enduring Word.

Flow.

Begins with a divine command to comfort Jerusalem, declaring her sins pardoned and her exile ended (vv. 1–2).
Introduces the voice in the wilderness preparing the way for the Lord’s appearance, with cosmic signs signaling His arrival (vv. 3–5).
Contrasts the frailty of humanity with the permanence of God’s Word, and calls for the heralding of Zion’s good news (vv. 6–9).
Reveals the coming Lord as both omnipotent sovereign and gentle shepherd, and affirms His incomparability through rhetorical questions about creation and nations (vv. 10–26).
Concludes by addressing Israel’s doubt with reassurance of God’s limitless strength and the renewal He gives to those who wait on Him (vv. 27–31).

Connections.
Following chapter 39, which ends with Hezekiah’s pride and a prophecy of Babylonian exile, chapter 40 dramatically shifts tone from warning to gospel proclamation, answering the looming judgment with divine comfort. This new beginning sets the trajectory for the “Book of Comfort” (chapters 40–55), where the promise of redemption supersedes the announcement of exile. The themes of God’s sovereign rule and the new exodus introduced here are foundational for chapter 41, which further develops the contest between the true God and idols and reinforces the call for trust in the one who calls Cyrus and guides His people.

What it teaches.
God is both holy and merciful, declaring the end of His people’s punishment and the fulfillment of His covenant promise to redeem (WCF 7.3). His sovereignty extends over all creation and nations, who are as nothing before Him (WCF 3.1). The Word of God stands forever, surpassing the transience of human life (WCF 1.8). The Lord who upholds the universe also gathers and feeds His people like a shepherd, revealing His personal care (HC LD 10). He is incomparable (WCF 4.1), seated above the earth, and His strength upholds the weary—a power made available to those who wait upon Him (Isa. 40:31; cf. WCF 16.5 on God’s blessing in obedience).

Apply.
When overwhelmed by weakness or doubt, look to the one who stretches out the heavens and still gathers lambs in His arms.

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