The big picture
Isaiah 40 opens in verse 1 with “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.”, reaches its middle movement near verse 16 with “And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt…”, and closes in verse 31 with “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with…” Repeated or prominent terms include LORD, earth, grass, faint, flower. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Isaiah · King James Version · 31Isaiah 40:1-8
1–8: Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Isaiah 40:1–8 opens with “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” and reaches “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on A herald announcing comfort, a shepherd gathering lambs, and weary people receiving strength, with particular weight carried by grass, LORD, flower.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” Naming Comfort keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD , make straight in the desert a highway…” Naming Prepare keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Isaiah 40:1-8
King James Version1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2Speak 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.
3The 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.
4Every 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:
5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
6The 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:
7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Isaiah 40:9-16
9–16: O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain…
Isaiah 40:9–16 opens with “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that…” and reaches “And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on A herald announcing comfort, a shepherd gathering lambs, and weary people receiving strength, with particular weight carried by taught, balance, bringest.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 3 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift…” Naming Jerusalem keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD , or being his counsellor hath taught him?” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.
Isaiah 40:9-16
King James Version9O 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!
10Behold, 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.
11He 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.
12Who 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?
13Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD , or being his counsellor hath taught him?
14With 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?
15Behold, 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.
16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
Isaiah 40:17-24
17–24: All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less…
Isaiah 40:17–24 opens with “All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and…” and reaches “Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on A herald announcing comfort, a shepherd gathering lambs, and weary people receiving strength, with particular weight carried by earth, nothing, graven.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 2 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.” Naming All keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.” The line’s distinctive content terms include casteth, chains, gold. Its relationship to verses 18 and 20 shows what work it does in this passage.
Isaiah 40:17-24
King James Version17All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
18To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
20He 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.
21Have 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?
22It 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:
23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
24Yea, 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.
Isaiah 40:25-31
25–31: To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
Isaiah 40:25–31 opens with “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.” and reaches “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on A herald announcing comfort, a shepherd gathering lambs, and weary people receiving strength, with particular weight carried by faint, LORD, weary.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 3 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.
“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he…” The number one makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
Isaiah 40:25-31
King James Version25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26Lift 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.
27Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD , and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28Hast 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.
29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31But 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Isaiah 40:1 begins with “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.”
Where the chapter turns
Isaiah 40:14 forms a natural hinge: “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…”
The final note
Isaiah 40:31 leaves the reader with “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…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, earth, grass, faint, flower, hand help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What ordinary act begins Joseph's service?
He notices that the officials look troubled and asks why.
How does the ending challenge easy success stories?
His interpretations are fulfilled, but his personal appeal is forgotten.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.