Every 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:
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- BSB Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.
- NKJV Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;
- NASB “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the uneven ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
- NLT Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Every valley is to be raised and every mountain made low to level the way for the Lord. Every obstacle to God's coming will be removed.
Overview
The imagery of leveling valleys and mountains pictures the removal of all that would hinder the Lord's approach. It promises that God's salvation will overcome every barrier. Quoted in Luke regarding John's ministry, the verse anticipates the way being cleared for the revealing of God's salvation in Christ to all flesh.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Luke 3:5Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
- Ezek 21:26Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.
- Luke 18:14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
- Isa 42:15–16I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
- Isa 45:2I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
- Ezek 17:24And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
- Job 40:11–13Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
- Ps 113:7–8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
- Isa 2:12–15For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
- Luke 1:52–53He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
- Isa 42:11Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
- 1 Sam 2:8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and he hath set the world upon them.
- Prov 2:15Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 40:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.