# Isaiah 40 đź“–: Comfort My People
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### The Lord Returns to Jerusalem
[[#Verse 01.]] “Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your God.
[[#Verse 02.]] “Speak kindly to Jerusalem and tell her
that her time of warfare is over,
that her punishment is completed.
For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”
[[#Verse 03.]]Â A voice cries out,
“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;
build a level road through the rift valley for our God.
[[#Verse 04.]]Â Every valley must be elevated,
and every mountain and hill leveled.
The rough terrain will become a level plain,
the rugged landscape a wide valley.
[[#Verse 05.]] The splendor of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it at the same time.
For the Lord has decreed it.”
[[#Verse 06.]] A voice says, “Cry out!”
Another asks, “What should I cry out?”
The first voice responds: “All people are like grass,
and all their promises are like the flowers in the field.
[[#Verse 07.]]Â The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
when the wind sent by the Lord blows on them.
Surely humanity is like grass.
[[#Verse 08.]]Â The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”
[[#Verse 09.]]Â Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion.
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem!
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
[[#Verse 10.]] Look, the Sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior;
his military power establishes his rule.
Look, his reward is with him;
his prize goes before him.
[[#Verse 11.]]Â Like a shepherd he tends his flock;
he gathers up the lambs with his arm;
he carries them close to his heart;
he leads the ewes along.
### The Lord is Incomparable
[[#Verse 12.]] Who has measured out the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or carefully measured the sky,
or carefully weighed the soil of the earth,
or weighed the mountains in a balance,
or the hills on scales?
[[#Verse 13.]] Who comprehends the mind of the Lord,
or gives him instruction as his counselor?
[[#Verse 14.]]Â From whom does he receive directions?
Who teaches him the correct way to do things,
or imparts knowledge to him,
or instructs him in skillful design?
[[#Verse 15.]]Â Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales.
He lifts the coastlands as if they were dust.
[[#Verse 16.]]Â Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice;
its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.
[[#Verse 17.]]Â All the nations are insignificant before him;
they are regarded as absolutely nothing.
[[#Verse 18.]]Â To whom can you compare God?
To what image can you liken him?
[[#Verse 19.]] A craftsman casts an idol;
a metalsmith overlays it with gold
and forges silver chains for it.
[[#Verse 20.]]Â To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot;
he then seeks a skilled craftsman
to make an idol that will not fall over.
[[#Verse 21.]]Â Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told to you since the very beginning?
Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?
[[#Verse 22.]] He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him.
He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain,
and spreads it out like a pitched tent.
[[#Verse 23.]]Â He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;
he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.
[[#Verse 24.]]Â Indeed, they are barely planted;
yes, they are barely sown;
yes, they barely take root in the earth,
and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,
and the wind carries them away like straw.
[[#Verse 25.]] “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”
says the Holy One.
[[#Verse 26.]]Â Look up at the sky!
Who created all these heavenly lights?
He is the one who leads out their ranks;
he calls them all by name.
Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,
not one of them is missing.
[[#Verse 27.]]Â Why do you say, Jacob,
Why do you say, Israel,
“The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me;
My God is not concerned with my vindication”?
[[#Verse 28.]]Â Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is an eternal God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He does not get tired or weary;
there is no limit to his wisdom.
[[#Verse 29.]]Â He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.
[[#Verse 30.]]Â Even youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble.
[[#Verse 31.]] But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
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###### Verse 31.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Chapter 40 begins the second major section of Isaiah, focused on comfort for exiles in Babylon.
2. The double command Comfort, comfort (40:1) uses repetition for emphasis.
3. All four Gospels apply 40:3 to John the Baptist (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23).
4. Peter quotes 40:6-8 in 1 Peter 1:24-25 to describe the enduring word of the gospel.
5. The Hebrew word for bringing good news (40:9) is translated with the Greek word that gives us evangelize.
6. Paul quotes 40:13 in Romans 11:34 and 1 Corinthians 2:16: who has known the mind of the Lord?
7. The circle of the earth (40:22) describes the earth's horizon or vault as seen from above.
8. God calls the stars by name (40:26), echoed in Psalm 147:4.
9. Isaiah mocks idol makers who choose wood that will not rot and fasten their idols so they will not topple (40:19-20).
10. Handel's Messiah opens with the words of 40:1-5.
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Lord whose way John the Baptist prepared (40:3; Mark 1:2-4). He is the Shepherd who gathers the lambs in His arms (40:11; John 10:11), and in Him the glory of the Lord is revealed (40:5; John 1:14).
## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. God's first word to His exiled people is comfort (40:1-2). How does God comfort His people after discipline?
2. People are like grass, but God's word stands forever (40:6-8). How should this shape where we put our confidence?
3. Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength (40:31). What does waiting on the Lord look like in practice?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 3: Prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness.
- đź“– verse 8: The grass withers, but the word of our God stands forever.
- đź“– verse 31: Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength and soar like eagles.
## đź”— Related Passages
- đź”— [[Mark 01#Verse 01.|Mark 1:1-4]] - John prepares the way of the Lord.
- đź”— [[1 Peter 01#Verse 23.|1 Peter 1:23-25]] - The word of the Lord endures forever.
- đź”— [[John 10#Verse 11.|John 10:11-14]] - Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
- đź”— [[Romans 11#Verse 33.|Romans 11:33-36]] - Who has known the mind of the Lord?
- đź”— [[2 Corinthians 04#Verse 16.|2 Corinthians 4:16]] - Renewed day by day.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Isaiah 40 - SOAP|Soaring With Eagles]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes