New Living Translation
Isaiah 40:3
3Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland 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, comfort my people,” says your God. 2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.” Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! 4Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. 5Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!”
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 came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,
- Mark 1:2just as the prophet Isaiah had written: “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way.
- Luke 3:2Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness.
- John 1:23John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”
- Isaiah 35:8And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.
- Isaiah 57:14God says, “Rebuild the road! Clear away the rocks and stones so my people can return from captivity.”
- Isaiah 62:10Go out through the gates! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise a flag for all the nations to see.
- Malachi 3:1“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
- Malachi 4:5“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives.
- Luke 1:16And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.
- Isaiah 11:15The Lord will make a dry path through the gulf of the Red Sea. He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River, sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streams so it can easily be crossed on foot.
- Isaiah 43:19For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
- Isaiah 49:11And I will make my mountains into level paths for them. The highways will be raised above the valleys.
- Psalms 68:4Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the Lord— rejoice in his presence!
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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