Bible/Isaiah/40

Isaiah 40:3

40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. comfortably: Heb. to the heart warfare: or, appointed time
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.

KJV

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The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God.

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.

The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

40:4 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: straight: or, a straight place plain: or, a plain place

What does Isaiah 40:3 mean?

Isaiah 40:3 is a verse in the book of Isaiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include קוֹל (qôwl), קָרָא (qârâʼ), מִדְבָּר (midbâr). It connects to 6 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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The
voiceקוֹלqôwl/kole/H6963a voice or sound
of
him
that
criethקָרָאqârâʼ/kaw-raw'/H7121to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications)
in
the
wilderness,מִדְבָּרmidbâr/mid-bawr'/H4057a pasture (i.e. open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert; also speech (including its organs)
Prepareפָּנָהpânâh/paw-naw'/H6437to turn; by implication, to face, i.e. appear, look, etc.
ye
the
wayדֶּרֶךְderek/deh'-rek/H1870a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb
of
the
LORD,יְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God
make
straightיָשַׁרyâshar/yaw-shar'/H3474to be straight or even; figuratively, to be (causatively, to make) right, pleasant, prosperous
in
the
desertעֲרָבָהʻărâbâh/ar-aw-baw'/H6160a desert; especially (with the article prefix) the (generally) sterile valley of the Jordan and its continuation to the Red Sea
a
highwayמְסִלָּהmᵉçillâh/mes-il-law'/H4546a thoroughfare (as turnpiked), literally or figuratively; specifically a viaduct, a staircase
for
our
God.אֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym/el-o-heem'/H430gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative

Commentary on Isaiah 40:3

HENRY_FULL · Isaiah 40:3
> Man is here represented to us, 1. As a reasonable creature, that has the faculty of contriving for himself: His heart devises his way, designs an end, and projects ways and means leading to that end, which the inferior creatures, who are governed by sense and natural instinct, cannot do. The more shame for him if he do not devise the way how to please God and provide for his everlasting state. 2. But as a depending creature, that is subject to the direction and dominion of his Maker. If men devise their way, so as to make God's glory their end and his will their rule, they may expect that he will direct their steps by his Spirit and grace, so that they shall not miss their way nor come short of their end. But let men devise their worldly affairs ever so politely, and with ever so great a probability of success, yet God has the ordering of the event, and sometimes directs their steps to that which they least intended. The design of this is to teach us to say, If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that ( Jam. iv. 14, 15 ), and to have our eye to God, not only in the great turns of our lives, but in every step we take. Lord, direct my way, 1 Thess. iii. 11 . The Duties of Kings. 1

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Deuteronomy 25:13

Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. divers: Heb. a stone and a stone

Isaiah 11:1

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

Ezekiel 45:10

Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.

Hosea 12:7

He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress. a merchant: or, Canaan oppress: or, deceive

Amos 8:5

Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? new: or, month set: Heb. open falsifying: Heb. perverting the balances of deceit

Micah 6:11

Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? count: or, be pure with, etc

Topics

Highways, FigurativeProclamationProphecies Respecting ChristQuotations and AllusionsStraightTravellers

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Isaiah 40:3.

1 Kings 18:27

And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. aloud: Heb. with a great voice he is talking: or, he meditateth is pursuing: Heb. hath a pursuit

1 Samuel 6:12

And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.

2 Chronicles 20:24

And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. none: Heb. there was not an escaping

Deuteronomy 1:7

Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. all: Heb. all his neighbours

Deuteronomy 2:8

And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

Exodus 16:3

And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

Exodus 34:6

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Genesis 16:7

And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

Frequently asked questions

What does Isaiah 40:3 say?

Isaiah 40:3 (King James Version) reads: "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."

Is Isaiah 40:3 in the Old or New Testament?

Isaiah 40:3 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Isaiah.

Reflect

As you read Isaiah 40:3, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

Plan a sermon or study on Isaiah 40:3
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