Skip to the text

Isaiah · Darby Translation

Isaiah 40 Darby Translation

Leer en español
About Darby
  • Protestant
  • OT: Masoretic Hebrew
  • NT: Critical text
  • Protestant (66 books)
  • Very literal
  • 1890
  • Public domain

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her time of suffering is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God! 4 Every valley shall be raised up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken. 6 A voice saith, Cry. And he saith, What shall I cry? — All flesh is grass, and all the comeliness thereof as the flower of the field. 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, for the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God abideth for ever. 9 O Zion, that bringest glad tidings, get thee up into a high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest glad tidings, lift up thy voice with strength: lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 10 Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come with might, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompence before him. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd: he will gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom; he will gently lead those that give suck. 12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with [his] span, and grasped the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in scales? 13 Who hath directed the Spirit of Jehovah, and, [as] his counsellor, hath taught him? 14 With whom took he counsel, and [who] gave him intelligence, and instructed him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are esteemed as a drop of the bucket, and as the fine dust on the scales; behold, he taketh up the isles as an atom. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him; they are esteemed by him less than a cipher, and vanity. 18 To whom then will ye liken God? and what likeness will ye compare unto him? 19 The workman casteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains [for it]. 20 He that is impoverished, so that he hath no offering, chooseth a tree that doth not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilled workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved. 21 — Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundation of the earth? 22 [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a gauze curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; 23 that bringeth the princes to nothing, that maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely hath their stock taken root in the earth, but he also bloweth upon them and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble. 25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see! Who hath created these things, bringing out their host by number? He calleth them all by name; through the greatness of his might and strength of power, not one faileth. 27 Why sayest thou, Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and my right is passed away from my God? 28 Dost thou not know, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not nor tireth? There is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and shall tire, and the young men shall stumble and fall; 31 but they that wait upon Jehovah shall renew [their] strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not tire; they shall walk, and not faint.

Cross references (31)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

  1. 1 2 Corinthians 1:4; Isaiah 51:12; Isaiah 51:3; Zephaniah 3:14–17; Zechariah 1:13
  2. 2 Zechariah 9:12; Isaiah 61:7; Hosea 2:14; Jeremiah 33:8–9; Revelation 18:6
  3. 3 Malachi 3:1; Mark 1:2–5; John 1:23; Matthew 3:1–3; Luke 1:16–17
  4. 4 Luke 3:5; Ezekiel 21:26; Luke 18:14; Isaiah 42:15–16; Isaiah 45:2
  5. 5 Habakkuk 2:14; Isaiah 52:10; Joel 2:28; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Luke 3:6
  6. 6 Psalm 103:15–16; 1 Peter 1:24–25; Psalm 102:11; James 1:10–11; Job 14:2
  7. 7 Job 41:21
  8. 8 Mark 13:31; Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:25; Psalm 119:89–91; Matthew 5:18
  9. 9 Isaiah 52:7–8; Ephesians 6:19; Isaiah 12:2; Isaiah 25:9; Isaiah 61:1
  10. 10 Revelation 22:12; Isaiah 62:11; Revelation 17:14; Matthew 28:18; Isaiah 49:4
  11. 11 Revelation 7:17; Psalm 23:1–6; Micah 5:4; Ezekiel 34:23; John 10:11–16
  12. 12 Proverbs 30:4; Hebrews 1:10–12; Psalm 102:25–26; Job 38:4–11; Isaiah 48:13
  13. 13 1 Corinthians 2:16; Romans 11:34; Job 36:22–23; Job 21:22; Luke 10:22
  14. 14 Job 21:22; Colossians 2:3; 1 Corinthians 12:4–6; James 1:17
  15. 15 Jeremiah 10:10; Isaiah 40:22; Job 34:14–15; Isaiah 29:5; Isaiah 11:11
  16. 16 Micah 6:6–7; Psalm 50:9–12; Psalm 40:6; Hebrews 10:5–10
  17. 17 Psalm 62:9; Daniel 4:34–35; Isaiah 29:7
  18. 18 Isaiah 46:5; 1 Samuel 2:2; Isaiah 40:25; Exodus 15:11; Acts 17:29
  19. 19 Jeremiah 10:9; Isaiah 46:6–7; Exodus 32:2–4; Habakkuk 2:18–19; Psalm 115:4–8
  20. 20 Jeremiah 10:3–4; Isaiah 41:7; Isaiah 46:7; Isaiah 2:8–9; Daniel 5:23
  21. 21 Isaiah 46:8; Isaiah 48:13; Acts 14:17; Romans 1:19–21; Psalm 50:6
  22. 22 Proverbs 8:27; Isaiah 42:5; Psalm 104:2; Isaiah 66:1; Jeremiah 10:12
  23. 23 Psalm 107:40; Job 12:21; Jeremiah 25:18–27; Isaiah 34:12; Isaiah 24:21–22
  24. 24 Isaiah 41:16; Isaiah 17:13; Jeremiah 23:19; Haggai 1:9; Proverbs 1:27
  25. 25 Isaiah 40:18; Deuteronomy 4:15–18; Deuteronomy 4:33; Deuteronomy 5:8
  26. 26 Colossians 1:16–17; Jeremiah 32:17–19; Isaiah 48:13; Isaiah 51:6; Psalm 147:4–5
  27. 27 Isaiah 49:4; Luke 18:7–8; Isaiah 49:14; Job 27:2
  28. 28 Romans 11:33–34; Psalm 147:5; 1 Timothy 1:17; Isaiah 55:8–9; Philippians 1:6
  29. 29 Isaiah 41:10; Philippians 4:13; 2 Corinthians 12:9–10; Colossians 1:11; Zechariah 10:12
  30. 30 Amos 2:14; Psalm 34:10; Psalm 33:16; Ecclesiastes 9:11; Isaiah 9:17
  31. 31 Lamentations 3:25–26; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Psalm 27:13–14; Psalm 103:5; 2 Corinthians 12:9–10

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

How these were chosen

“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

  1. Quotes verse 40:10 Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians (Chapters XXXIV–XXXIX)

    And thus He forewarns us: "Behold, the Lord [cometh], and His reward is before His face, to render to every man according to his work." He exhorts us, therefore, with our whole heart to attend to this, that we be not lazy or slothful in any good work.

    Read in context · Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885)

  2. Quotes verse 40:12 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies (Book IV, Chapter XVIII)

    Ye have heard "that the heavens are meted out in the palm of [His] hand:" tell me the measure, and recount the endless multitude of cubits, explain to me the fulness, the breadth, the length, the height, the beginning and end of the measurement,--things which the heart of man understands not, neither does it comprehend them.

    Read in context · Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885)

  3. Quotes verse 40:6–8 Augustine of Hippo, Confessions (Book XIII, Chapters XII–XV)

    Because the scroll shall be rolled together, and the grass over which it was spread shall with its goodliness pass away; but Thy Word remaineth for ever, which now appeareth unto us in the dark image of the clouds, and through the glass of the heavens, not as it is; because we also, although we be the well-beloved of Thy …

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)

  4. Quotes verse 40:3 John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew (Homily X)

    Thus the prophet saith that he shall come saying, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." And he himself when he was come said, "Bring forth fruits meet for repentance," which corresponds with, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Seest thou that both by the words of the prophet, and by his own preaching, this …

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)

  5. Quotes verse 40:3 Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures (Lecture III)

    For the voice is heard of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)