Amplified Bible
Isaiah 40:3
3A voice of one is calling out, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness [remove the obstacles]; Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
Isaiah 40:3 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
- English Standard Version (ESV)A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
Context of Isaiah 40:3
1“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. 2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, And call out to her, that her time of compulsory service in warfare is finished, That her wickedness has been taken away [since her punishment is sufficient], That she has received from the Lord’s hand Double [punishment] for all her sins.” A voice of one is calling out, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness [remove the obstacles]; Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 4Every valley shall be raised, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged places a broad valley. 5And the glory and majesty and splendor of the Lord will be revealed, And all humanity shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”
Read all of Isaiah 40Isaiah 40:3 word by word
ק֣וֹל קוֹרֵ֔א בַּמִּדְבָּ֕ר פַּנּ֖וּ דֶּ֣רֶךְ יְהוָ֑ה יַשְּׁרוּ֙ בָּעֲרָבָ֔ה מְסִלָּ֖ה לֵאלֹהֵֽינוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
- of him that criethקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call outH7121
- in the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- Prepareפָּנָהpânâh · to turnH6437
- ye the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- make straightיָשַׁרyâshar · to smoothH3474
- in the desertעֲרָבָה‛ărâbâh · plainH6160
- a highwayמְסִלָּהmesillâh · highwayH4546
- for our Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
Cross-references for Isaiah 40:3
- Matthew 3:1In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea [along the western side of the Dead Sea] and saying,
- Mark 1:2As it is written and forever remains in the [writings of the] prophet Isaiah: “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way—
- Luke 3:2in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas [his son-in-law], the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
- John 1:23He said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
- Isaiah 35:8A highway will be there, and a roadway; And it will be called the Holy Way. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for those who walk on the way [the redeemed]; And fools will not wander on it.
- Isaiah 57:14And it will be said, “Build up, build up, clear the way. Remove the stumbling block out of the way [of the spiritual return] of My people.”
- Isaiah 62:10Go through, go through the gates, Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway, Remove the stones, lift up a banner over the peoples.
- Malachi 3:1“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare and clear the way before Me. And the Lord [the Messiah], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
- Malachi 4:5“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.
- Luke 1:16He will turn many of the sons of Israel back [from sin] to [love and serve] the Lord their God.
- Isaiah 11:15And the Lord will utterly destroy The tongue of the Sea of Egypt; And with His scorching wind He will wave His hand over the River; He will strike and divide it into seven channels And make [it possible for] people [to] walk over in sandals.
- Isaiah 43:19Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.
- Isaiah 49:11And I will make all My mountains a roadway, And My highways will be raised.
- Psalms 68:4Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Lift up a song for Him who rides through the desert— His name is the Lord—be in good spirits before Him.
Commentaries on Isaiah 40:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3The voice of him that crieth to the wilderness "A voice crieth, In the wilderness" - The idea is taken from the practice of eastern monarchs, who, whenever they entered upon an expedition or took a journey, especially through desert and unpractised countries, sent harbingers before them to prepare all things for their passage, and pioneers to open the passes, to level the ways, and to remove all impediments. The officers appointed to superintend such…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The voice of him that crieth - Lowth and Noyes render this, A voice crieth,‘ and annex the phrase in the wilderness‘ to the latter part of the sentence: A voice crieth, In the wilderness prepare ye the way of Yahweh.‘ The Hebrew (קורא קול qôl qôrē' ) will bear this construction, though the Vulgate and the Septuagint render it as in our common version. The sense is not essentially different, though the parallelism seems to require the translation…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3A voice of one calling: In Malachi 3:1, this person (possibly the Elijah of Malachi 4:5) was God's messenger who prepared the way for God's coming. In the Gospels, people identified this announcer as John the Baptist (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23). Prepare the way … make a straight highway: The announcer's message would speed up God's coming (see Isaiah 35:8). As God made a way for Israel through the Red Sea (Isaiah 43:16), a way would also…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. crieth in the wilderness--So the Septuagint and Mt 3:3 connect the words. The Hebrew accents, however, connect them thus: "In the wilderness prepare ye," &c., and the parallelism also requires this, "Prepare ye in the wilderness," answering to "make straight in the desert." Matthew was entitled, as under inspiration, to vary the connection, so as to bring out another sense, included in the Holy Spirit's intention; in Mt 3:1, "John the Baptist…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 40:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 40
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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