Isaiah 55:10 (ASV)

Passage

For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

Nearby Context

Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah.

Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

Isaiah 55:11 so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isaiah 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing; and all the trees of the fields shall clap their hands.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "rain", "cometh", "down", "snow", "heaven", "returneth", "thither", and "watereth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "rain" and "cometh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "For as the heavens are higher than..." into verse 11's "so shall my word be that goeth...", so "rain" and "cometh" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "rain" and "cometh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.