Isaiah 35:4
in Isaiah 35Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; he will come and save you.
KJV
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
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This verse in Isaiah 35
Commentary
14 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Say to them - This is still an address to the ministers of religion, to make use of all the consolations which these truths and predictions furnish to confirm and strengthen the people of God. Of a fearful heart - Of a timid, pusillanimous heart; those who tremble before their enemies. The Hebrew is, as in the Margin, ‘Of a hasty heart;’ that is, of those who are disposed to flee before their enemies (see the note at Isa 30:16).
This site's exposition
Strengthen the limp hands
on Isaiah 35:3-4
The comfort goes straight to the discouraged: Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees. Its ground is stated plainly, your God will come with vengeance, and He will come to save you. Hebrews 12:12 takes up the same words, strengthen your limp hands and weak knees.
This site's exposition
Say to those with anxious hearts
Anxious hearts renders a Hebrew phrase meaning hasty hearts, and Albert Barnes reads it of those ready to flee before enemies, as at Isaiah 30:16. He takes the command to say these words as given to the teachers of the people. God will come to save.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
"This is the will of my Father," he said, "that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life." But notice that he who was sent also came by his own will, as the prophet Isaiah said: "Be encouraged, you who …
Christ said, "I am in the Father, and the Father is in me," and "Whoever sees me, sees the Father." The inclusion of just one syllable, "and," distinguishes the Father from the Son. It also demonstrates that you possess neither the Father nor the Son. …
This is the divine arrangement, as far as any human being can investigate it, better minds in a better way, lesser minds less effectively; this divine arrangement is giving us hints of a great and significant mystery. Christ, you see, was going to come in the flesh, not anyone at all, not an angel, not an ambassador; but "he himself will come and save you." It wasn't anyone who was going to come; and yet how was he going to come? He was going to be born in mortal flesh, to be a tiny infant, to be laid in a manger, wrapped in cradle clothes, nourished on milk; going to grow up, and finally even to be done to death. So in all these indications of humility there is indeed a pattern of an extreme humility.
The actions of Christ must be seen alongside the rule of the Scriptures. Unless I am mistaken, we see that Christ's work consisted of two actions: preaching and power. Let us look at each of these in the order we have just listed them. First, Christ was announced as a preacher. Isaiah said, "Cry out loud, and do not hold back. Lift up your voice as a trumpet, and declare to my people their crimes and to the house of Jacob their sins.
(Verse 3, 4.) Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will bring vengeance and retribution. God Himself will come and save you (or as the Septuagint translates, us). Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing, for water will burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert, and the dry ground will become a pool (or marsh), and the thirsty land springs of water. In the dens where the dragons once lived, green rushes and reeds shall grow (in the version of the Seventy: There will be the joy of birds and the folds of flocks). And there shall be a path and a road (or a clean road) and it shall be called the holy road, no unclean person shall pass through it. And this shall be for us a direct road, so that fools shall not go astray (or as the Seventy translated, There will be no unclean road there, those who are scattered shall pass through it and shall not wander. There will be, it says, no lion there, and no wicked beast shall ascend it, nor shall it be found there; but they who are set free shall walk on it. And those who are redeemed by the Lord shall return and come to Zion with praise, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. […]
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the strengthening itself is set out: say to the fainthearted: fear not, little flock (Luke 12:32). Third, the reason for the strengthening is assigned, and first, as to the removal of evils, in liberating them from their enemies: behold your God will bring the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The gospel furnishes us with strengthening considerations, and shows us where strength is laid up for us. Among true Christians there are many that have weak hands and feeble knees, that are yet but babes in Christ; but it is our duty to strengthen our brethren ( Luke xxii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Say to them that are of a fearful heart,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
fearful--"hasty," Margin; that is, with a heart fluttered with agitation. with--the Hebrew is more forcible than the English Version: "God will come, vengeance! even God, a recompense!" The sense is the same.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2815: “Good Cheer for Many That Fear” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THIS is an exhortation which is addressed, not to one person, but to several. In the third verse you can see that the message runs, "Strengthen you the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees." What, Lord? Is not one man sufficient for this task? Will not one of Your servants, when he repeats Your precious promises, be able to drive away the fears of Your people? Will not half a word be enough to put to rout their foolish, groundless suspicions and suppositions? No, they have need of many comforters. It is not enough, O Lord, that one should come and speak in Your name? No, "for precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." We are a people of a stubborn will and of a wayward heart, O God. Too often do we wander from Your ways! It is well, therefore, that God has spoken thus, not simply to one of His servants, but to all those who love His appearing and rejoice in the certainty of His promises—"Say you, all of you"—for I may rightly supply the pronoun here—"say you to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not." Let me observe that in the original, the word for, "fearful," is, "hasty." Now, a hasty man is never a wise man. And equally true is it that a "fearful" man is never prudent. Fearful men are always hasty—they jump at conclusions. They say, with Jacob, "All these things are against me," because they cannot see to the end of the Lord's dispensations. They forget that He is full of pity and full of compassion. Circumstance or expediency is their guiding star. They seek to follow the track of the meteors which fly here and there across the midnight sky—they forget the pole-star of God's Truth and faithfulness. They go to sea without chart or compass and they are driven backwards and forwards by contrary winds! And even when there is no wind, they know not how to steer their ship.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2815: “Good Cheer for Many That Fear” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THIS is an exhortation which is addressed, not to one person, but to several. In the third verse you can see that the message runs, "Strengthen you the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees." What, Lord? Is not one man sufficient for this task? Will not one of Your servants, when he repeats Your precious promises, be able to drive away the fears of Your people? Will not half a word be enough to put to rout their foolish, groundless suspicions and suppositions? No, they have need of many comforters.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
to the hasty of heart Who hurry the redemption and are troubled by its delay.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Strengthen weak hands (חַזְּקוּ) All the prophets who brought tidings of salvation consoled Israel and strengthened their weak hands. (The word) is in the intensive conjugation, and its meaning is (the causative, i.e.,) strengthen others.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִמְרוּ֙ | ʾimru | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְנִמְהֲרֵי־ | lenimharei- | to [people] hasty of | H4116 → | 68 times |
| לֵ֔ב | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| חִזְק֖וּ | chizku | be strong | H2388 → | 291 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּירָ֑אוּ | tirau | you be afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| נָקָ֣ם | nakam | vengeance | H5359 → | 17 times |
| יָב֔וֹא | yavo' | he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| גְּמ֣וּל | gemul | [the] recompense of | H1576 → | 19 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֔ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יָב֖וֹא | yavo' | he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶֽם׃ | veyoshaakhem | and he may deliver you | H3467 → | 206 times |
אִמְרוּ֙say
ʾimruH559 →5305 times
לְנִמְהֲרֵי־to [people] hasty of
lenimharei-H4116 →68 times
לֵ֔בheart
levH3820 →595 times
חִזְק֖וּbe strong
chizkuH2388 →291 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּירָ֑אוּyou be afraid
tirauH3372 →315 times
הִנֵּ֤הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙God your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
נָקָ֣םvengeance
nakamH5359 →17 times
יָב֔וֹאhe will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
גְּמ֣וּל[the] recompense of
gemulH1576 →19 times
אֱלֹהִ֔יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
ה֥וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
יָב֖וֹאhe will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶֽם׃and he may deliver you
veyoshaakhemH3467 →206 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 6:10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
it leads to
- Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- 1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.
- 1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish…
- Joshua 1:9
Through
Haggai 2:4But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work! For I…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 28:20
David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will neither fail you…
- Zechariah 8:9
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were present when the foundations were laid to rebuild the…
- Deuteronomy 31:23
Then the LORD commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with…
- 1 Chronicles 28:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 293:8; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2815: “Good Cheer for Many That Fear” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Quodvultdeus, ON THE APPROACH TO GRACE 1:14.12-1:15.1; Quodvultdeus, AGAINST FIVE HERESIES 6:38-39; Tertullian, AN ANSWER TO THE JEWS 9 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.