Isaiah 40

“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.

“Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned…” Naming Jerusalem and Speak 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.

“Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.

“And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.

“The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the…” 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.

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.” The line’s distinctive content terms include grass, bloweth, fadeth. Its relationship to verses 6 and 8 shows what work it does in this passage.

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.

“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.

“Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.

“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 measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust…” 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.

“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.

“With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge…” 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.

“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 line’s distinctive content terms include balance, bucket, counted. Its relationship to verses 14 and 16 shows what work it does in this passage.

“And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.” Naming Lebanon keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“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.

“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto 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.

“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.

“He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.

“Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the…” 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.

“It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth…” The line’s distinctive content terms include circle, curtain, dwell. Its relationship to verses 21 and 23 shows what work it does in this passage.

“That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.” The line’s distinctive content terms include bringeth, earth, judges. Its relationship to verses 22 and 24 shows what work it does in this passage.

“Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.

“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.

“Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD , and my judgment is passed over from my…” 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.

“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD , the Creator of the ends of the earth…” 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.

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” The line’s distinctive content terms include faint, giveth, increaseth. Its relationship to verses 28 and 30 shows what work it does in this passage.

“Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.