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. 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.” 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! Fill 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!” 6A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a 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 42:11Join in the chorus, you desert towns; let the villages of Kedar rejoice! Let the people of Sela sing for joy; shout praises from the mountaintops!
• 1 Samuel 2:8He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord’s, and he has set the world in order.
• Psalms 113:7He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.
• Ezekiel 17:24And all the trees will know that it is I, the Lord, who cuts the tall tree down and makes the short tree grow tall. It is I who makes the green tree wither and gives the dead tree new life. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I said!”
• Ezekiel 21:26This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Take off your jeweled crown, for the old order changes. Now the lowly will be exalted, and the mighty will be brought down.
• Luke 1:52He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.
• Luke 3:5The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth.
• Luke 18:14I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
• Isaiah 2:12For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has a day of reckoning. He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted.
• Job 40:11Give vent to your anger. Let it overflow against the proud.
• Isaiah 42:16I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.
• Isaiah 45:2This is what the Lord says: “I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.
• Proverbs 2:15Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.

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