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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 40:3-8

The time to favour Zion, yea, the set time, having come, the people of God must be prepared, by repentance and faith, for the favours designed them; and, in order to call them to both these, we have here the voice of one crying in the wilderness, which may be applied to those prophets who were with the captives in their wilderness-state, and who, when they saw the day of their deliverance dawn, called earnestly upon them to prepare for it, and assured them that all the difficulties which stood... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:5

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed ..... Christ himself, who is the brightness of his Father's glory, and his own glory, as the glory of the of the only begotten of the Father; the glorious perfections of his nature, seen in the miracles wrought, and in the doctrines taught by him; the glory of the divine Father, in the face or person of Christ; and the glory of his attributes, in the work of salvation by him; all which is most clearly discerned in the glass of the Gospel, or in the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:6

The voice said, cry ,.... Not the same voice as in Isaiah 40:3 , nor the voice of an angel, as Aben Ezra; but a voice from the Lord, as Jarchi; the voice of prophecy, says Kimchi; it is the Lord's voice to the prophet, or rather to any and every Gospel minister, giving them an order to prophesy and preach, without which they cannot preach regularly and lawfully; it is the same as, "go, teach all nations", &c.; preach the Gospel to every creature, &c.; Matthew 28:19 , and he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:7

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth ,.... And so does man, and all his glory and goodliness: because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it : alluding to some impetuous and blasting wind blowing upon herbs and flowers, to the withering and fading of them; see Psalm 103:15 , legal ordinances ceased upon the pouring forth of the Spirit. The external excellencies of men, or their outward advantages, perish at the breath of God, at the blast of his nostrils, when taken away by death;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:5

"The salvation of our God" - These words are added here by the Septuagint: το σωτηριον του Θεου , אלהינו ישועת את eth yesuath Eloheynu , as it is in the parallel place, Isaiah 52:10 . The sentence is abrupt without it, the verb wanting its object; and I think it is genuine. Our English translation has supplied the word it, which is equivalent to this addition, from the Septuagint. This omission in the Hebrew text is ancient, being prior to the Chaldee, Syriac, and Vulgate Versions:... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:6

The voice saint Cry "A voice saith Proclaim" - To understand rightly this passage is a matter of importance; for it seems designed to give us the true key to the remaining part of Isaiah's prophecies, the general subject of which is the restoration of the people and Church of God. The prophet opens the subject with great clearness and elegance: he declares at once God's command to his messengers, (his prophets, as the Chaldee rightly explains it), to comfort his people in captivity, to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:7

The grass withereth - The whole of this verse is wanting in three of Kennicott's and five of De Rossi's MSS., and in a very correct and ancient MS. of my own, and also in the Septuagint and Arabic. Surely the people "Verily this people" - So the Syriac; who perhaps read הזה העם haam hazzeh . Because the spirit of the Lord "When the wind of Jehovah" - יהוה רוח ruach Jehovah , a wind of Jehovah, is a Hebraism, meaning no more than a strong wind. It is well known that a hot wind... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:1-11

The prophet's commission. He is to unfold a theme of consolation, which runs through the whole of the book, introduced by this chapter. He speaks to the prophets: "Ye prophets, prophesy consolation concerning my people" (Targum of Jonathan); or, "O priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem," according to the LXX . The former is probably correct. The prophets were numerous both in Isaiah's time ( Isaiah 3:1 ; Isaiah 29:10 , Isaiah 29:20 ) and during the Babylonian exile ( Jeremiah... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:3-5

The golden age. " Every valley shall be exalted ," etc. Everything depends upon how we view the future, whether with the horoscope of history or prophecy. History says the old evils return—war, strife, wrong, selfishness. Then the heart sinks, and inspiration to duty is weakened. But when we go with the prophet to the mountain-tops, we see— I. PATHS OF PREPARATION . "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." There are the ruins of the old military roads of the Caesars, but the... read more

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