Isaiah 40
Comfort for God's people, and wings like eagles
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Isaiah 40 is God's message to his people in exile in Babylon, and its first word is "Comfort." A voice calls for a highway for God across the desert and says people fade like grass, but God's word stands forever. God comes like a shepherd, rules over every nation and star, and gives strength to tired people, so those who wait upon the LORD will mount up with wings like eagles.
Where it is in the Bible: Isaiah 40
All the sections at a glanceA map of the message, with the verses for each section.
Map of the Message
| Section | Verses | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Comfort My People | 40:1-2 | God tells his messengers to comfort Jerusalem |
| 2. Prepare the Way | 40:3-5 | A voice calls for a highway for God |
| 3. The Grass Withers | 40:6-8 | People fade, but God's word stands |
| 4. Here Is Your God | 40:9-11 | God comes with strength, like a shepherd |
| 5. Who Measured the Waters? | 40:12-17 | No one is as great as God |
| 6. Nothing Compares | 40:18-20 | An idol can't show what God is like |
| 7. Above the Circle of the Earth | 40:21-24 | God rules over every ruler |
| 8. He Calls the Stars by Name | 40:25-26 | God made every star and knows each one |
| 9. Wings Like Eagles | 40:27-31 | God gives strength to tired people |
Before You Read
Who wrote it. The book is named for Isaiah, a prophet in Jerusalem (Isaiah 1:1). A prophet is a messenger who speaks for God. Isaiah lived about 740 to 700 BC.
Who it's for. Chapter 40 speaks to God's people in exile. In 586 BC, the army of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and its temple. Many of the people were taken far away, to Babylon.
A big jump in time. In chapter 39, Isaiah warns the king that Babylon will one day carry off his treasures and his descendants (39:6-7). Chapter 40 speaks to people after that has happened. Many scholars think a later prophet, a follower of Isaiah's teaching, wrote chapters 40 to 55 during the exile. Others hold that Isaiah wrote them, looking ahead. Either way, the church reads these words as God's word.
How to read it. This is poetry, meant to be heard out loud. The speakers change without warning. This guide tells you who is speaking each time.
Section by Section
Section 1 of 9Comfort My People
The chapter opens with God speaking. His first words are "Comfort, comfort My people" (40:1). God says it twice.
Remember who is listening. Jerusalem is in ruins. Its people live far away in Babylon. Later in this chapter, they say God has lost track of them (40:27).
God speaks to a group he doesn't name. Most readers think they are messengers or prophets. God tells them to "speak tenderly to Jerusalem" (40:2). Here, Jerusalem means its people. God gives three pieces of news to tell them.
First, their hard time is over. The BSB calls it "forced labor" (40:2). Second, their sin is forgiven. Third, they have received "double for all her sins" (40:2) from the LORD.
LORD in capital letters stands for God's personal name. Jewish readers traditionally don't say it aloud, out of respect.
Many readers take "double" as a way of saying "in full." The time of punishment is over. Nothing more is owed. The Meaning step says more about this.
Section 2 of 9Prepare the Way
Now a new voice speaks. The text doesn't say whose voice it is. It only says, "A voice of one calling" (40:3).
The voice calls for a road. "Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness" (40:3). Build a straight highway for God across the desert.
A desert lay between Babylon and Jerusalem. One likely picture: God coming home across it, leading his people, the way he once led them out of Egypt.
Every valley will be raised up. Every mountain and hill will be made low. Bumpy ground will become smooth, and rough land will become flat.
This is a comparison. It's like a road crew getting a road ready for a king. Here, the whole land gets ready for God.
Then "the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it" (40:5). Glory means God's greatness, shining where people can see it. Israel will see it, and so will everyone else.
The voice ends with a promise: "For the mouth of the LORD has spoken" (40:5). What God says, God does.
Section 3 of 9The Grass Withers
Another voice says, "Cry out!" (40:6). Someone answers, "What should I cry out?" (40:6). Many readers think the one answering is the prophet.
The answer comes back. People are like grass. All their beauty is like wildflowers.
The grass dries up and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them. The word for breath can also mean wind. "Indeed, the people are grass" (40:7).
This is a comparison. Grass looks green today and is dry tomorrow. People are like that. They are weak, and they don't last.
Then comes the answer to that fear: "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (40:8).
One likely meaning: this cuts two ways. God's people are weak. But so is Babylon, and so is every power that scares them. Only God's word lasts.
Section 4 of 9Here Is Your God
Now Jerusalem gets a job. The voice calls it a "herald of good news" (40:9). A herald is a messenger who announces news in public. Zion is another name for Jerusalem. Translations differ a little here, and the Meaning step explains how.
Climb a high mountain, the voice says. Shout it out. Don't be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!" (40:9).
The Lord GOD comes with power. GOD in capital letters is God's personal name again, the same name as LORD. "His arm establishes His rule" (40:10). The arm is a picture of strength. "His reward is with Him" (40:10). One likely meaning: God brings his rescued people home with him, like a prize he has won.
Then the picture turns gentle. "He tends His flock like a shepherd" (40:11).
He gathers the lambs in his arms. He carries them close to his heart. He gently leads the mother sheep who are feeding their young.
The same arm that rules also carries lambs.
Halfway thereThis is a good place for a break. Your spot is saved on this device.
Section 5 of 9Who Measured the Waters?
Now the prophet asks questions. Who has measured all the oceans in the hollow of his hand? Who has measured the sky with his hand spread wide?
Who has held all the dust of the earth in a basket? Who has weighed the mountains on a scale? The answer the prophet expects is: only God.
More questions follow. Who told the Spirit of the LORD what to do? Who gave God advice? Who taught God what is fair, or showed him how to understand? No one did.
Next to God, the nations are like "a drop in a bucket" (40:15). They are like a speck of dust on a scale. He lifts up whole islands like fine dust.
Lebanon was famous for its great forests. Even so, all the trees in Lebanon would not be enough wood for an offering that fits God. All its animals would not be enough either.
All the nations are "as nothing before Him" (40:17).
For the people in exile, that includes Babylon, the greatest empire in their world. To God, it is a drop in a bucket.
Section 6 of 9Nothing Compares
The prophet asks, "To whom will you liken God?" (40:18). Liken means compare. What picture could show what God is like?
Then he describes an idol. An idol is a statue people worship as a god. A craftsman makes it from metal. A metalworker covers it with gold and adds silver chains.
A poorer person chooses wood that won't rot. Then he hires a skilled worker to set up an idol that won't tip over.
People make idols. Then they have to keep the idols from falling over. God is not like that. God is "the Creator of the ends of the earth" (40:28).
The people in exile lived among many idols. Later in Isaiah, Babylon's gods are carried away on tired animals, because they can't carry themselves (46:1-2).
Section 7 of 9Above the Circle of the Earth
"Do you not know? Have you not heard?" (40:21). The prophet asks four questions in a row. God's people have known these things from the beginning.
God "sits enthroned above the circle of the earth" (40:22). From up there, the people below look like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the sky like a curtain. He spreads it out like a tent to live in.
God brings princes down to nothing. He makes the rulers of the earth count for nothing.
They are like new plants just put in the ground. They have barely taken root when God blows on them. They dry up, and a whirlwind carries them off like stubble. Stubble is the dry stalks left in a field after harvest.
Remember the grass in Section 3. People are grass. So are rulers.
Section 8 of 9He Calls the Stars by Name
Now God speaks. "To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?" asks the Holy One (40:25).
The Holy One is a name for God that Isaiah uses often. Holy means set apart, completely good, and unlike anyone else.
"Lift up your eyes on high" (40:26). Look up at the night sky. Who made all of these?
God leads out the stars one by one. The BSB calls them "the starry host" (40:26). A host is an army. "He calls each one by name" (40:26).
God is so strong and so great that not one star is missing.
Later in Isaiah, Babylon trusts people who study the stars to tell the future (47:13). Here, the stars are not gods. They are God's army, and he knows each one by name.
Section 9 of 9Wings Like Eagles
Now the prophet speaks straight to the people. He calls them Jacob and Israel. These are two names for their ancestor Jacob, and for the nation that came from him.
He repeats what they have been saying: "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God" (40:27). They feel God can't see them. They feel he doesn't care what happens to them anymore.
The prophet pushes back on this. But he doesn't answer with blame. He answers by telling them who God is. And their complaint is not out of place. Psalms like Psalm 13 bring the same complaint to God: "How long?"
Then the questions come again. "Do you not know? Have you not heard?" (40:28).
"The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary" (40:28). No one can fully understand how God thinks.
God doesn't keep his strength to himself. "He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak" (40:29). Faint means weak and worn out.
Even young people get tired. Even strong young men trip and fall.
"But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint" (40:31).
To wait upon the LORD means to trust him and look to him for help, even before you see it come.
Notice the order: fly, then run, then walk. One likely reason: some days, strength looks like soaring. Other days, it looks like walking and not giving up.
The chapter began with "Comfort." It ends with strength for tired people. They thought God had lost track of them. The whole chapter answers them. God has not. He is coming, and he carries his people.
Meaning
What does it mean?
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What Does This Mean?
| The text says | It means |
|---|---|
| "Comfort, comfort My people" (40:1) | God says it twice to make it strong. It's God's first word to his people after they lost almost everything. |
| "Her iniquity has been pardoned" (40:2) | Iniquity means sin. Pardoned means forgiven. |
| "Double for all her sins" (40:2) | Many readers take it to mean "in full." The punishment is over. See the alert below. |
| "Prepare the way for the LORD" (40:3) | This is a picture of a road built for a king. God is coming. The Gospels use these words for John the Baptist (Mark 1:3). |
| "All flesh is like grass" (40:6) | This is a comparison. "Flesh" here means human beings. People are weak, and they don't last. |
| "The word of our God stands forever" (40:8) | What God promises will happen. His word lasts when everything else fades. |
| "O Zion, herald of good news" (40:9) | Zion is another name for Jerusalem. A herald announces news. Jerusalem is told to announce that God is coming. |
| "His arm establishes His rule" (40:10) | God's arm is a picture of his strength. |
| "A drop in a bucket" (40:15) | This is a comparison. Even the greatest nations are tiny next to God. |
| "The circle of the earth" (40:22) | A poetic picture of the world spread out below God. See the alert below. |
| "He calls each one by name" (40:26) | God knows every star personally. The God who knows the stars knows his people too. |
| "Those who wait upon the LORD" (40:31) | People who trust God and look to him for help, even before it comes. |
| "Wings like eagles" (40:31) | This is a comparison. Eagles fly high and strong. God's strength lifts tired people. |
Back Then
Babylon. Babylon was the capital of a great empire, on the Euphrates River in what is now Iraq. Its king, Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed Jerusalem and took many of its people to Babylon. (Easton's Bible Dictionary, "Babylon")
Going home. In 539 BC, Cyrus, king of Persia, conquered Babylon. The next year, he let God's people go home to rebuild (Ezra 1:1-4). Isaiah names Cyrus a few chapters later (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1).
The forests of Lebanon. Lebanon, north of Israel, was famous for its cedar trees. Solomon used cedar from Lebanon to build the temple (1 Kings 5:6). (Easton's Bible Dictionary, "Lebanon")
Idols. Idols were often carved from wood and covered with gold or silver. (Easton's Bible Dictionary, "Idol")
Literal Reader Alert
Did God punish them "double" what they deserved? Readers have understood this in different ways. Many take "double" to mean "in full." The time of punishment is complete, and nothing more is owed. Others hear it as a way of saying the people had suffered a great deal. It's okay to notice things like this. Careful readers have asked about it for centuries. Either way, the chapter's first word is "Comfort," and the same verse says their sin is forgiven.
Does "the circle of the earth" mean the Bible is teaching the shape of the earth? This is poetry, not a science lesson. The picture is of God high above the world, with the sky spread out like a tent. Bible poems describe the world the way it looks to people standing on it.
Is Zion the messenger, or the one who hears the news? Translations differ in verse 9. The BSB says "O Zion, herald of good news" (40:9), so Jerusalem is the messenger. The King James Version says the same: "O Zion, that bringest good tidings." But some other translations, and Handel's Messiah, say the messenger brings good news to Zion: "O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion." The Hebrew can be read both ways. Either way, the news is the same: "Here is your God!" (40:9).
Who wrote Isaiah 40? Many scholars think a prophet who followed Isaiah's teaching wrote chapters 40 to 55 during the exile, about 150 years after Isaiah. Others hold that Isaiah wrote them, looking ahead by God's gift. Faithful Christians hold both views. Either way, the church reads these words as God's word.
Is "wait upon the LORD" the same as doing nothing? No. It means trusting God and looking to him with hope. Jeremiah told the people in exile to build houses, plant gardens, and pray for the city they lived in (Jeremiah 29:5-7). Waiting on God and living your life go together.
If I'm tired all the time, is my faith too weak? No. Verse 30 says even young, strong people get tired. Being worn out is not a lack of faith. God's promise is for "the faint" and "the weak" (40:29). If tiredness or sadness won't lift, talk with someone you trust, like a pastor or a doctor. Getting help is part of how God cares for you.
How People Feel
| Who | Feeling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| God's people in exile | Forgotten | They say, "My way is hidden from the LORD" (40:27) |
| God's people in exile | Worn out | God promises power "to the faint" (40:29) |
For you
What does it mean for me?
Your Turn
Which line do you need most today? Tap one.
"Comfort, comfort My people"
God's first word to people who had lost almost everything was comfort, not blame. In Jesus, God still speaks tenderly to you.
"He carries them close to His heart"
You don't have to hold yourself up. Jesus calls himself the good shepherd (John 10:11). He carries you.
"He calls each one by name"
God knows every star by name. He knows yours. In Baptism, God called you by name and made you his own.
"He gives power to the faint"
Being tired is not failing. God's strength is for people who have run out of their own.
It's really bad right now
Please tell someone you trust today. In the U.S., call or text 988. If you are in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Outside the U.S., findahelpline.com lists free helplines.
You Might Have Heard
"Isaiah 40:31 means that if your faith is strong enough, you'll never get tired."
What's true: God really does give strength. Many people have leaned on this promise in the hardest times of their lives.
What the passage is mainly about: It was first spoken to exiles who were worn out and felt forgotten. The promise is for "the faint" and "the weak" (40:29). It doesn't say strong faith keeps you from getting tired. It says God meets tired people. And some days, the promise is to walk and not faint.
Where Jesus is: Jesus got tired too (John 4:6). He said, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
Good News
God's people had lost their city, their temple, and their home. This chapter itself says it came because of their sins (40:2). God could have started with blame. Instead, his first word was "Comfort."
The voice in the wilderness came true in a way no one expected. John the Baptist got people ready. Then God came, in Jesus (Mark 1:1-3). Many Christians hear the shepherd of verse 11 in Jesus, who says, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11).
Grass withers. Your strength runs out. But "the word of our God stands forever" (40:8). First Peter quotes these words and says this lasting word is the good news that was preached to you (1 Peter 1:24-25).
You don't have to be strong enough. God comes to tired people, speaks tenderly to them, and carries them.
From the Wider Church
Handel's Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742. It opens with Isaiah 40, mostly in the words of the King James Version: "Comfort ye my people," "Every valley shall be exalted," and "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed." Later it sets verse 9 as "O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion," and verse 11 as "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd." The alert about verse 9 explains why Handel's words differ from the BSB. Many churches sing it every Advent and Christmas.
Big Idea
God speaks comfort to people who feel forgotten, and he gives his strength to the tired.
If this message brings up big feelings, talk with someone you trust, like a parent, pastor, or counselor.
For leaders and parentsLuther, church readings, and notes for teaching.
From Luther
Isaiah 40:8 became the motto of Luther's Reformation. Starting in 1522, Luther's protector, Frederick the Wise of Saxony, put the motto on his court's clothing: Verbum Domini manet in aeternum, "The word of the Lord endures forever." The Latin wording follows 1 Peter 1:25, which quotes Isaiah 40:8. Lutherans still use the letters VDMA as a reminder that God's word outlasts everything else.
In Church
Many churches follow a reading plan called the Revised Common Lectionary. It reads Isaiah 40:1-11 on the Second Sunday of Advent in Year B, with Mark 1:1-8. It reads Isaiah 40:21-31 on the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany in Year B.
We quote Luther for what he got right about grace. He also wrote terrible things about Jewish people. Read our note on that.
Memorize
How do I keep it?
One line from this story to learn by heart. Practice a little now. It will come back later so it sticks.
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles
How did that feel?