Isaiah 40:4 (GNV)

Passage

Euery valley shall be exalted, and euery mountaine and hill shall be made lowe: and the crooked shalbe streight, and the rough places plaine.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:2 Speake comfortably to Ierusalem, and crye vnto her, that her warrefare is accomplished, that her iniquitie is pardoned: for she hath receiued of the Lords hand double for all her sinnes.

Isaiah 40:3 A voyce cryeth in the wildernesse, Prepare ye the way of the Lord: make streight in the desert a path for our God.

Isaiah 40:4 Euery valley shall be exalted, and euery mountaine and hill shall be made lowe: and the crooked shalbe streight, and the rough places plaine.

Isaiah 40:5 And the glory of the Lord shalbe reueiled, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Isaiah 40:6 A voyce saide, Crie. And he saide, What shall I crie? All flesh is grasse, and all the grace thereof is as the floure of the fielde.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "euery", "valley", "shall", "exalted", "mountaine", and "hill". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "euery" and "valley", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "A voyce cryeth in the wildernesse Prepare..." into verse 5's "And the glory of the Lord shalbe...", so "euery" and "valley" 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 "euery" and "valley" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.