Isaiah 40

King James Version · 31 verses · 1,038 cross-references linking it to 435 other chapters

1. 1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.57 cross-references: 2 Corinthians 1:4, Isaiah 51:12, Isaiah 51:3, Zephaniah 3:14–17, 1 Thessalonians 4:18
2. 2Speak 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.55 cross-references: Zechariah 9:12, Isaiah 61:7, Hosea 2:14, Jeremiah 33:8–9, Revelation 18:6
3. 3The 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.51 cross-references: Malachi 3:1, Mark 1:2–5, John 1:23, Matthew 3:1–3, Luke 1:16–17
4. 4Every 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:19 cross-references: Luke 3:5, Ezekiel 21:26, Luke 18:14, Isaiah 45:2, Isaiah 42:15–16
5. 5And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.46 cross-references: Habakkuk 2:14, Joel 2:28, Isaiah 52:10, Luke 3:6, Isaiah 11:9
6. 6The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:41 cross-references: Psalms 103:15–16, 1 Peter 1:24–25, James 1:10–11, Psalms 102:11, Job 14:2
7. 7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.8 cross-references: Job 41:21
8. 8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.21 cross-references: Mark 13:31, 1 Peter 1:25, Matthew 24:35, Matthew 5:18, Psalms 119:89–91
9. 9O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!64 cross-references: Isaiah 52:7–8, Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 25:9, Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 61:1
10. 10Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.40 cross-references: Revelation 22:12, Isaiah 62:11, Revelation 17:14, Matthew 28:18, Isaiah 49:4
11. 11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.87 cross-references: Revelation 7:17, Micah 5:4, Psalms 23:1–6, Ezekiel 34:23, John 10:11–16
12. 12Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?29 cross-references: Proverbs 30:4, Hebrews 1:10–12, Psalms 102:25–26, Job 38:4–11, Isaiah 48:13
13. 13Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?22 cross-references: 1 Corinthians 2:16, Romans 11:34, Job 36:22–23, Job 21:22, Luke 10:22
14. 14With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?7 cross-references: Job 21:22, Colossians 2:3, James 1:17, 1 Corinthians 12:4–6
15. 15Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.18 cross-references: Isaiah 40:22, Jeremiah 10:10, Isaiah 29:5, Isaiah 11:11, Job 34:14–15
16. 16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.8 cross-references: Micah 6:6–7, Psalms 40:6, Psalms 50:9–12, Hebrews 10:5–10
17. 17All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.14 cross-references: Psalms 62:9, Daniel 4:34–35, Isaiah 29:7, 2 Corinthians 12:11, Job 25:6
18. 18To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?46 cross-references: Isaiah 46:5, 1 Samuel 2:2, Exodus 15:11, Acts 17:29, Isaiah 40:25
19. 19The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.29 cross-references: Jeremiah 10:9, Isaiah 46:6–7, Judges 17:4, Habakkuk 2:18–19, Exodus 32:2–4
20. 20He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.9 cross-references: Isaiah 41:7, Isaiah 46:7, Jeremiah 10:3–4, Isaiah 2:8–9, Daniel 5:23
21. 21Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?19 cross-references: Acts 14:17, Psalms 50:6, Isaiah 46:8, Isaiah 48:13, Romans 1:28
22. 22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:47 cross-references: Proverbs 8:27, Psalms 104:2, Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 66:1, Jeremiah 10:12
23. 23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.14 cross-references: Job 12:21, Psalms 107:40, Jeremiah 25:18–27, Isaiah 34:12, Isaiah 19:13–14
24. 24Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.38 cross-references: Isaiah 41:16, Isaiah 17:13, Jeremiah 23:19, 2 Kings 10:11, Isaiah 17:11
25. 25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.26 cross-references: Isaiah 40:18, Deuteronomy 4:33, Deuteronomy 4:15–18, Deuteronomy 5:8
26. 26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.43 cross-references: Jeremiah 32:17–19, Colossians 1:16–17, Isaiah 51:6, Isaiah 48:13, Psalms 89:11–13
27. 27Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?15 cross-references: Isaiah 49:4, Luke 18:7–8, Isaiah 49:14, Job 27:2
28. 28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.57 cross-references: Romans 11:33–34, Psalms 147:5, Philippians 1:6, Isaiah 55:8–9, 1 Timothy 1:17
29. 29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.34 cross-references: Isaiah 41:10, 2 Corinthians 12:9–10, Philippians 4:13, Colossians 1:11, Zechariah 10:12
30. 30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:19 cross-references: Amos 2:14, Psalms 34:10, Psalms 33:16, Ecclesiastes 9:11, Isaiah 9:17
31. 31But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.71 cross-references: Lamentations 3:25–26, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Psalms 103:5, Psalms 27:13–14, 2 Corinthians 12:9–10

Explained connections

• A voice in the wilderness Isaiah 40:3 and Matthew 3:3

  Isaiah hears a voice calling to prepare a way for the LORD in the wilderness, the start of Israel's homecoming from exile. All four Gospels identify John the Baptist as that voice; since the way is prepared for the LORD himself, the one who follows John is implicitly God coming to his people.

• The beginning of the gospel Isaiah 40:3 and Mark 1:3

  Mark opens his Gospel with this prophecy (blended with Malachi 3:1) before introducing John the Baptist. Starting with Isaiah's new-exodus promise frames everything that follows as God's long-awaited return.

• Prepare the way of the Lord Isaiah 40:3 and Luke 3:4

  Luke quotes Isaiah 40 at greater length than the other Gospels, carrying it through to the promise that all flesh will see God's salvation. That fits Luke's emphasis on salvation reaching every nation.

• All flesh shall see the salvation of God Isaiah 40:5 and Luke 3:6

  Isaiah says the glory of the LORD will be revealed and all flesh will see it together. Luke, alone among the Gospels, extends the quotation to this line, signalling from the outset that the gospel is for every people.

• All flesh is grass Isaiah 40:6 and 1 Peter 1:24

  Isaiah contrasts withering grass with the word of God that stands for ever. Peter applies it to the gospel by which believers were born again — imperishable seed.

• Who has known the mind of the Lord? Isaiah 40:13 and Romans 11:34

  Isaiah asks who has instructed the Spirit of the LORD. Paul uses it in his doxology after explaining God's plan for Jews and Gentiles: God's wisdom is beyond tracing.

• We have the mind of Christ Isaiah 40:13 and 1 Corinthians 2:16

  Paul quotes the same question, then gives a surprising answer: believers have the mind of Christ through the Spirit.

• The word that never passes away Isaiah 40:8 and Matthew 24:35

  Isaiah says grass withers but God's word stands for ever. Jesus says heaven and earth will pass away but his words will not — placing his words on the level of God's.

• The great shepherd of the sheep Isaiah 40:11 and Hebrews 13:20

  Isaiah pictures God tending his flock like a shepherd, carrying lambs close. Hebrews' closing blessing names Jesus the great shepherd of the sheep, raised from the dead through the blood of the covenant.

Chapters most linked to Isaiah 40

• Isaiah 4118 links
• Jeremiah 1017 links
• Isaiah 4914 links
• Isaiah 5113 links
• Isaiah 4212 links
• Ezekiel 3411 links
• Isaiah 3510 links
• Psalms 1029 links
• Jeremiah 319 links
• Isaiah 449 links
• John 19 links
• Isaiah 469 links
• Deuteronomy 48 links
• Isaiah 668 links
• 2 Corinthians 48 links
• Job 377 links

People in Isaiah 40

God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Jacob

Places in Isaiah 40

Jerusalem, Zion, Lebanon

Hard questions about Isaiah 40

• Does God grow tired and need rest?
• Can God be known from what he has made?
• Will all flesh see the glory of the Lord, or will the wicked not behold his majesty?
• What shape does the Bible give the earth?