Passage

Isaiah 40.9

Book: Isaiah · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"7. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. 8. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever."

"9. O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God!"

"10. Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young." (Isaiah 40:7-11, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"7. The grass withers, the flower fades, because Yahweh’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass. 8. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever.”"

"9. You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up. Don’t be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold, your God!”"

"10. Behold, the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young." (Isaiah 40:7-11, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"7. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."

"9. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! ^{O Zion: or, O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion} ^{O Jerusalem: or, O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem}"

"10. Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. ^{with strong: or, against the strong} ^{his work: or, recompence for his work} 11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. ^{that: or, that give suck}" (Isaiah 40:7-11, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"7. Withered hath grass, faded the flower, For the Spirit of Jehovah blew upon it, Surely the people [is] grass; 8. Withered hath grass, faded the flower, But a word of our God riseth for ever."

"9. On a high mountain get thee up, O Zion, Proclaiming tidings, Lift up with power thy voice, O Jerusalem, proclaiming tidings, Lift up, fear not, say to cities of Judah, 'Lo, your God.'"

"10. Lo, the Lord Jehovah with strength cometh, And His arm is ruling for Him, Lo, His hire [is] with Him, and His wage before Him. 11. As a shepherd His flock He feedeth, With His arm He gathereth lambs, And in His bosom He carrieth [them]: Suckling ones He leadeth." (Isaiah 40:7-11, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: YHWH through the prophet Isaiah
Audience: exilic / post-exilic Israel anticipating restoration
Location: Judah / Babylonian exile context
Time period: Isaiah's ministry c. 740-680 BC; chs. 40-55 envision the exilic / post-exilic restoration

Theological reading

Isaiah 40:9 opens the mevasser tradition in the Book of Consolation (Isa 40-66). The verse commands the mevasseret Zion, "she who brings good news to Zion", to climb the mountain and announce YHWH's coming. The participial form is the OT origin of the entire NT evangelist vocabulary: the LXX renders it with euangelizomenos. The content of the announcement is "Behold, your God!", the herald proclaims the arrival of YHWH Himself to reign and shepherd His people (vv. 10-11). The verse stands at the entry point of the Servant-Songs trajectory and inaugurates the prophetic-herald figure that will be developed at Isaiah 52.7 and culminate at Isaiah 61.1, where the Servant becomes the mevasser in person. The Lukan-Markan use of Isa 40:3-5 to introduce John the Baptist (Mk 1:2-3; Lk 3:4-6) carries the announcement-context of v. 9 along with it.

Key words

H1319 - basar, basar, the verb to bring good news; the mevasseret participle here

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.