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Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 40:13-14

The questions in these verses call for the same response. God was not only alone in the work of creation, but He is alone in the wisdom needed to execute it (cf. Job 38:2 to Job 39:30). "He who has measured the creation cannot be measured by the creation." [Note: Young, 3:44.] "In Babylonian mythology, the creator god Marduk could not proceed with creation without consulting ’Ea, the all-wise’, but the Lord works with unaided wisdom. In both Babylonian and Canaanite creation stories the creator... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:1-22

The hope of return is grounded by the prophet upon the fact that Jehovah is the only God, the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Disposer of the fate of nations, who guides the course of history according to His will. The tone of this section is argumentative, the respective claims of Jehovah and of the heathen gods being discussed as in a court of justice. The object of the argument is to encourage the Jews in their exile by showing that, since Jehovah is thus supreme, no obstacles will be... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:1-24

Israel’s Restoration from Exile in BabylonOn the authorship and date of these chapters see Intro. According to their subject matter, they fall naturally into three divisions of almost equal length (Isaiah 40-48, 49-57, , 58-66), the close of each division being marked by an intimation that the wicked shall not share in the blessings promised to God’s people. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:1-31

The Proclamation of Deliverance1, 2. The theme of the prophecies following: the period of Zion’s trouble and affliction is over. 3-26. Celestial voices give the message of restoration to God’s people, who are encouraged by the thought of His infinite power. 27-31. Trust in Jehovah is, therefore, the source of true strength.2. Warfare] RM ’time of service,’ i.e. enforced service and hardship: cp. Job 7:1. Double] i.e. double (ample) penalty (Jeremiah 17:18), in the sufferings of the exile.3-5. A... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 40:13

(13) Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord?—The term, which had been used in a lower sense in Isaiah 40:7, is here clothed as with a Divine personality, answering, as it were, to the wisdom of Proverbs 8:22-30, with which the whole passage has a striking resemblance. Eastern cosmogonies might represent Bel or Ormuzd, as calling inferior deities into counsel (Cheyne). The prophet finds no other counsellor than One who is essentially one with the Eternal. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 40:14

(14) Counsel . . . judgment.—The cluster of words belonging to the sapiential vocabulary of the Book of Proverbs is to be noted as parallel with Proverbs 11:23, Isaiah 33:15. read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Isaiah 40:1-31

Comfort Ye! Comfort Ye! Isaiah 40:1 How lovable the God who speaks thus! He allures us irresistibly. He commands our hearts. And the quality of the consolation He enjoins is so rich. Comfort, in the Bible, means strengthening. The word has deteriorated of late. It now too often signifies soothing, lulling to rest. But when God says 'Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,' He calls His prophets to strengthen them, to arouse them, to nerve them. It is a great and enduring empowerment which God... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:1-31

CHAPTER XIVTHE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF ISRAEL AND THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODIsaiah 40:1-31; Isaiah 41:1-29; Isaiah 42:1-25; Isaiah 43:1-28; Isaiah 44:1-28; Isaiah 45:1-25; Isaiah 46:1-13; Isaiah 47:1-15; Isaiah 48:1-22; Isaiah 49:1-26; Isaiah 50:1-11; Isaiah 51:1-23; Isaiah 52:1-15; Isaiah 53:1-12; Isaiah 54:1-17; Isaiah 55:1-13; Isaiah 56:1-12; Isaiah 57:1-21; Isaiah 58:1-14; Isaiah 59:1-21; Isaiah 60:1-22; Isaiah 61:1-11; Isaiah 62:1-12; Isaiah 63:1-19; Isaiah 64:1-12; Isaiah 65:1-25; Isaiah 66:1-24IN... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:12-16

CHAPTER VIGOD: A SACRAMENTIsaiah 40:12-16SUCH are the Four Voices which herald the day of Israel’s redemption. They are scarcely silent, before the Sun Himself uprises, and horizon after horizon of His empire is displayed to the eyes of His starved and waiting people. From the prologue of the prophecy, in Isaiah 40:1-11, we advance to the presentation, in Isaiah 40:12-31 and Isaiah 41:1-29, of its primary and governing truth-the sovereignty and omnipotence of God, the God of Israel.We may well... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Isaiah 40:1-31

II. THE LATER PROPHECIES OF COMFORT AND GLORY (40-66) Like the first part this second part of Isaiah has three sections. The three sections of the first part revealed the judgments to come upon the Jewish people, Jerusalem, the nations and the earth. The three sections of the second part reveal the great blessings in store for the people of Israel, Jerusalem, the nations and the earth, after the judgments are passed. These sections give the past, present, and the future history of the Jewish... read more

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