Isaiah 40:11 (DRB)

Passage

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:9 Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:

Isaiah 40:10 Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.

Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.

Isaiah 40:12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm? who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Isaiah 40:13 Who hath forwarded the spirit of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor, and hath taught him?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "feed", "flock", "like", "shepherd", "gather", and "together". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "feed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Behold the Lord God shall come with..." into verse 12's "Who hath measured the waters in the...", so "shall" and "feed" 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 "shall" and "feed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.