American Standard Version
Isaiah 40:3
3The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level 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
1Comfort 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, that she hath received of Jehovah’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God. 4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain: 5and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath 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
Cross-references for Isaiah 40:3
- Matthew 3:1And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, saying,
- Mark 1:2Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way;
- Luke 3:2in the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
- John 1:23He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.
- Isaiah 35:8And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for the redeemed: the wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not err therein.
- Isaiah 57:14And he will say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.
- Isaiah 62:10Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up an ensign for the peoples.
- Malachi 3:1Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts.
- Malachi 4:5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come.
- Luke 1:16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God.
- Isaiah 11:15And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod.
- Isaiah 43:19Behold, I will do a new thing; now shall it spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
- Isaiah 49:11And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
- Psalms 68:4Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: Cast up a highway for him that rideth through the deserts; His name is Jehovah; and exult ye 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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries