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 Living Translation (NLT)Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.

Context of Isaiah 40:4

2“Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.” 3The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is 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 voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
• 1 Samuel 2:8He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He has set the world upon them.
• Psalms 113:7He raises the poor out of the dust, And lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
• Ezekiel 17:24And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.”
• Ezekiel 21:26thus says the Lord God: “Remove the turban, and take off the crown; Nothing shall remain the same. Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.
• Luke 1:52He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
• Luke 3:5Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth;
• Luke 18:14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
• Isaiah 2:12For the day of the Lord of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up— And it shall be brought low—
• Job 40:11Disperse the rage of your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.
• Isaiah 42:16I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.
• Isaiah 45:2‘I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
• Proverbs 2:15Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;

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