Isaiah 40:4

Isaiah 40:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Every 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:
• New International Version (NIV)Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;

Context of Isaiah 40:4

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.” 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. Every 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.” 6A voice says, “Call out [prophesy].” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” [The voice answered:] All humanity is [as frail as] grass, and all that makes it attractive [its charm, its loveliness] is [momentary] like the flower of the field.

Isaiah 40:4 word by word

כָּל־גֶּיא֙ יִנָּשֵׂ֔א וְכָל־הַ֥ר וְגִבְעָ֖ה יִשְׁפָּ֑לוּ וְהָיָ֤ה הֶֽעָקֹב֙ לְמִישׁ֔וֹר וְהָרְכָסִ֖ים לְבִקְעָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Every valleyגַּיְאgay' gay · valleyH1516
• shall be exaltedנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
• and every mountainהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• and hillגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · hillH1389
• shall be made lowשָׁפֵלshâphêl · to abaseH8213
• and the crookedעָקֹב‛âqôb · steepH6121
• shall be made straightמִישׁוֹרmîyshôr mîyshôr · plainH4334
• and the rough placesרֶ֫כֶסrekes · roughnessH7406
• plainבִּקְעָהbiq‛âh · valleyH1237

Cross-references for Isaiah 40:4

• Isaiah 42:11Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, The villages where Kedar lives. Let the inhabitants of Sela shout for joy, Let them shout joyfully from the tops of the mountains.
• 1 Samuel 2:8He raises up the poor from the dust, He lifts up the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor and glory; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the land on them.
• Psalms 113:7He raises the poor out of the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
• Ezekiel 17:24All the trees of the field will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will fulfill it.”
• Ezekiel 21:26thus says the Lord God, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; things shall not remain as they have been. Exalt that which is low and abase the high.
• Luke 1:52He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And exalted those who were humble.
• Luke 3:5Every ravine shall be filled up, And every mountain and hill shall be leveled; And the crooked [places] shall be made straight, And the rough roads smooth;
• Luke 18:14I tell you, this man went to his home justified [forgiven of the guilt of sin and placed in right standing with God] rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself [forsaking self-righteous pride] will be exalted.”
• Isaiah 2:12For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against all who are proud and arrogant And against all who are lifted up, That they may be degraded.
• Job 40:11Pour out the overflowings of your wrath, And look at everyone who is proud and make him low.
• Isaiah 42:16I will lead the blind by a way they do not know; I will guide them in paths that they do not know. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These things I will do [for them], And I will not leave them abandoned or undone.”
• Isaiah 45:2“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.
• Proverbs 2:15Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

Commentaries on Isaiah 40:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Crooked - The word עקב akob is very generally rendered crooked: but this sense of the word seems not to be supported by any good authority. Ludolphus, Comment. ad Hist. Aethiop. p. 206, says "that in the Ethiopia language it signifies clivus, locus editus:" and so the Syriac Version renders it in this place, ערמא arama : Hebrew, ערמה aramah, tumulus, acervus. Thus the parallelism would be more perfect:" the hilly country shall be made level, and the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Every valley shall be exalted - That is, every valley, or low piece of ground, shall be filled up so as to make a level highway, as was done in order to facilitate the march of armies. This verse is evidently designed to explain what is intended in Isaiah 40:3, by preparing the way for Yahweh. Applied to the return of the Jews from Babylon, it means simply that the impassable valleys were to be filled up so as to make a level road for their journey. If…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-5There is now a shift from announcing the good news to expecting God's arrival. The good news (Isaiah 40:1–2) is based on God himself. Isaiah described the Lord as coming on a highway through the desert (see Isaiah 35). However, the imagery is reversed here: In Isaiah 35, the people traveled to Zion, toward the Lord. Here, the Lord is coming toward his people (see also Isaiah 52:8, where both images are combined).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Eastern monarchs send heralds before them in a journey to clear away obstacles, make causeways over valleys, and level hills. So John's duty was to bring back the people to obedience to the law and to remove all self-confidence, pride in national privileges, hypocrisy, and irreligion, so that they should be ready for His coming (Mal 4:6; Lu 1:17). crooked--declivities.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 40:4

• Church
• Gentiles
• Highways
• Prophecy
• Quotations and Allusions
• Readings, Select
• Straight

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Carry
• Cry
• Feed
• Plain
• Renew
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah (2)
• John, Gospel of
• Leviticus

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