Isaiah 40

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:23

That bringeth the princes to nothing - That is, all princes and kings. No matter how great their power, their wealth, and their dignity, they are, by his hand, reduced to nothing before him. The design of this passage is to contrast the majesty of God with that of princes and nobles, and to show how far he excels them all. The general truth is therefore stated, that all monarchs are by him removed from their thrones, and consigned to nothing. The same idea is expressed in Job 12:21 :He poureth... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:24

Yea, they shall not be planted - The kings and rulers - especially they who oppose God in the execution of his purposes. The idea in this verse is, that their name and family should become extinct in the same way as a tree does from which no shoot starts up. Although they were great and mighty, like the tree that sends out far-spreading branches, and strikes its roots deep, yet God would so utterly destroy them that they should have no posterity, and their family become extinct. Princes and... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:25

To whom then will ye liken me? - (See Isaiah 40:18) The prophet having thus set forth the majesty and glory of God, asks now with great emphasis, what could be an adequate and proper representation of such a God. And if God was such a Being, how great was the folly of idolatry, and how vain all their confidence in the gods which their own hands had made. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:26

Lift up your eyes on high - Direct your eyes toward heaven, and in the contemplation of the wonders of the starry world, and of God’s power there, learn the evidence of his ability to destroy his foes and to save his friends. Lowth connects this verse with the former, and renders it:‘Saith the Holy One,Lift up your eyes on high.’The words ‘on high’ here are evidently synonymous with heaven, and refer to the starry worlds. The design of the passage is to convince them of the folly of idolatry,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:27

Why sayest thou? - This verse is designed to reprove the people for their want of confidence in God. The idea is, ‘If God is so great; if be arranges the hosts of heaven with such unerring skill, causing all the stars to observe their proper place and their exact times, the interests of his people are safe in his hands.’ Piety may always find security in the assurance that He who preserves the unbroken order of the heavens will not fail to keep and save his people. The language in this verse is... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:28

Hast thou not known? - This is the language of the prophet reproving them for complaining of being forsaken and assuring them that God was faithful to his promises. This argument of the prophet, which continues to the close of the chapter, comprises the main scope of the chapter, which is to induce them to put confidence in God, and to believe that he was able and willing to deliver them. The phrase, ‘Hast thou not known? refers to the fact that the Jewish people had had an abundant opportunity... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:29

He giveth power to the faint - To his weak and feeble people. This is one of his attributes; and his people, therefore, should put their trust in him, and look to him for aid (compare 2 Corinthians 12:9). The design of this verse is to give consolation to the afflicted and down-trodden people in Babylon, by recalling to their minds the truth that it was one of the characteristics of God that he ministered strength to those who were conscious of their own feebleness, and who looked to him for... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:30

Even the youths shall faint - The most vigorous young men, those in whom we expect manly strength, and who are best suited to endure hardy toil. They become weary by labor. Their powers are soon exhausted. The design here is, to contrast the most vigorous of the human race with God, and to show that while all their powers fail, the power of God is unexhausted and inexhaustible.And the young men - The word used here denotes properly “those who are chosen or selected” (בחוּרים bachûriym, Greek... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the Lord - The word rendered ‘wait upon’ here (from קוה qâvâh), denotes properly to wait, in the sense of expecting. The phrase, ‘to wait on Yahweh,’ means to wait for his help; that is, to trust in him, to put our hope or confidence in him. It is applicable to those who are in circumstances of danger or want, and who look to him for his merciful interposition. Here it properly refers to those who were suffering a long and grievous captivity in Babylon, and who had no... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 40

A.M. 3294. B.C. 710. Here begins the latter section of Isaiah’s prophecies, continued from hence to the end of the book, without any apparent interruption. “Taken together,” says Bishop Lowth, “they constitute the most elegant part of the sacred writings of the Old Testament; interspersed also with many passages of the highest sublimity.” They were probably delivered in the latter part of Hezekiah’s reign, after the defeat of Sennacherib, and are divided from those of the former section, not... read more

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:23

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:24

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:25

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:26

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:27

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:28

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:29

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:30

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:31

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 40

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