Isaiah 40 (KJV)

31 verses · King James Version · Formal equivalence (word-for-word)

The King James Version is the most influential English Bible translation in history. Commissioned by King James I and completed in 1611, it shaped the English language itself. Its majestic prose and formal accuracy make it beloved for memorization and liturgical use.

Isaiah Chapter 40 contains 31 verses and is presented here in the King James Version (KJV), which uses a formal equivalence (word-for-word) approach. Read the full text below, compare with other translations, or navigate to any of the 66 chapters in Isaiah.

NIVESVNLTMSGNASB
Chapter 39Chapter 41

1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

2Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. <sup>comfortably: Heb. to the heart</sup> <sup>warfare: or, appointed time</sup>

3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: <sup>straight: or, a straight place</sup> <sup>plain: or, a plain place</sup>

5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

6The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

9O 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! <sup>O Zion: or, O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion</sup> <sup>O Jerusalem: or, O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem</sup>

10Behold, 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. <sup>with strong: or, against the strong</sup> <sup>his work: or, recompence for his work</sup>

11He 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. <sup>that: or, that give suck</sup>

12Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? <sup>a measure: Heb. a tierce</sup>

13Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? <sup>his: Heb. man of his counsel</sup>

14With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? <sup>instructed: Heb. made him understand</sup> <sup>understanding: Heb. understandings?</sup>

15Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

17All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

18To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

19The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

20He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. <sup>is so: Heb. is poor of oblation</sup>

21Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: <sup>It is: or, Him that</sup>

23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

24Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

27Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. <sup>renew: Heb. change</sup>

Chapter 39Read in NIVChapter 41

About This Translation

What is Isaiah 40 in the KJV?

Isaiah 40 in the King James Version (KJV) contains 31 verses. The KJV uses a formal equivalence (word-for-word) approach, first published in 1611.

How does the KJV translate Isaiah 40 differently?

The King James Version uses formal equivalence (word-for-word), preserving the classic English of 1611. Compare this with the NIV (dynamic equivalence) version of Isaiah 40 for a different perspective.

How many verses are in Isaiah 40 (KJV)?

Isaiah Chapter 40 contains 31 verses in the King James Version. The book of Isaiah has 66 chapters total.

Isaiah (KJV) — All 66 Chapters