Isaiah 40:11 (LSB)

Passage

Like a shepherd He will shepherd His flock; In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:9 Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Raise up your voice powerfully, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Raise it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

Isaiah 40:10 Behold, Lord Yahweh will come with strength, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him.

Isaiah 40:11 Like a shepherd He will shepherd His flock; In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

Isaiah 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And encompassed the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?

Isaiah 40:13 Who has encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh, Or as His counselor has informed Him?

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Behold Lord Yahweh will come with strength..." into verse 12's "Who has measured the waters in the...", so "like" and "shepherd" 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 "like" and "shepherd" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.