Isaiah 40:4 (WEB)

Passage

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:2 “Speak comfortably to Jerusalem; and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of Yahweh’s hand double for all her sins.”

Isaiah 40:3 The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God.

Isaiah 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain.

Isaiah 40:5 Yahweh’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.”

Isaiah 40:6 The voice of one saying, “Cry!” One said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "The voice of one who calls out..." into verse 5's "Yahweh s glory shall be revealed and...", so "valley" and "shall" 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 "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.