Isaiah 40 explained: Comfort and Strength for Weary Exiles

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem (vv. 1-2)

Messengers are told to speak to the heart of a ruined Jerusalem and its exiled people: their hard time of punishment is finished and their wrongs are dealt with. "Double" most likely means the price has been paid in full, though scholars differ on the exact sense.

A highway through the desert (vv. 3-5)

Kings in that world sent crews ahead to level roads, and here a road is cleared so God can lead his people home from exile in Babylon across the desert, a scene that echoes the old journey out of Egypt. The Gospels apply this voice to John the Baptist, which is how Christians read it as preparing the way for Jesus.

People fade, God's word lasts (vv. 6-8)

A prophet asks what message to shout, and the answer is that human strength and loyalty wilt like grass under the hot desert wind. Only God's promise stays standing, so the exiles can trust it more than any empire.

Here is your God (vv. 9-11)

A messenger climbs a high place, where announcements were made so all could hear, and calls to Judah's towns that God is coming. He arrives with a strong arm yet acts like a shepherd who carries lambs close and goes slowly with the mothers.

Bigger than nations and idols (vv. 12-20)

God handles oceans, skies and mountains as easily as someone measuring with a hand, so whole nations are like a drop in a bucket, and even Lebanon's great forests and herds could not supply a worthy offering. Idols, by contrast, have to be cast, plated, or carved from wood that won't rot, then propped up so they don't fall over.

Rulers fall, stars obey (vv. 21-26)

Powerful rulers spring up and get blown away like dry stalks, while God calls every star by name and none goes missing. Many scholars think this was aimed at Babylon, where the stars were worshipped as gods.

Strength for the weary (vv. 27-31)

The exiles complained that God had lost track of them and stopped caring about their cause. The answer is that the Creator never tires, and those who wait on him get fresh strength, like eagles riding the wind.

Key verse: Isaiah 40:31

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether this chapter speaks first of all about the exiles' return from Babylon, with John the Baptist and Jesus as a later, fuller fulfillment, or whether it was aimed directly at them from the start.

Something to think about

When you feel overlooked or worn out, what actually helps you find strength again?