Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill made low. The crooked ways shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth.
- KJV Every 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;
- NKJV Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth;
- NASB ‘Every ravine will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be lowered; The crooked will become straight, And the rough roads smooth;
- NLT The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth.
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
Isaiah's words picture every obstacle being leveled to prepare the Lord's coming. It matters because it portrays the thorough heart-preparation repentance requires.
Overview
The Isaiah quotation continues, describing valleys filled and mountains lowered, crooked made straight, rough made smooth. The imagery depicts removing every barrier to welcome the Lord. Spiritually, it pictures the leveling work of repentance that prepares people to receive Christ and His salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 40:4Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.
- Isa 42:16I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
- Isa 45:2“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.
- Isa 49:11I will turn all My mountains into roads, and My highways will be raised up.
- Ezek 17:24Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”
- Heb 12:12–13Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees.
- Luke 1:51–53He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
- Isa 2:11–17The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
- Isa 61:1–3The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- Isa 35:6–8Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
- Jas 1:9The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 3:5 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.