Isaiah 40:4 (LSB)

Passage

Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:2 “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has been fulfilled, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received from the hand of Yahweh Double for all her sins.”

Isaiah 40:3 A voice is calling, “Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

Isaiah 40:4 Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

Isaiah 40:5 Then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”

Isaiah 40:6 A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its lovingkindness is like the flower of the field.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "valley", "lifted", "mountain", "hill", "rough", "ground", "become", and "plain". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "valley" and "lifted", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "A voice is calling Prepare the way..." into verse 5's "Then the glory of Yahweh will be...", so "valley" and "lifted" 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 "valley" and "lifted" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.