Isaiah 40:10
in Isaiah 40Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 40
Commentary
13 notes on this verseFor our Lord Jesus Christ showed himself to us having divine strength, and his arm with authority, that is, with power and dominion.
This site's exposition
Here is your God
on Isaiah 40:9-11
Zion herself becomes the herald, sent up on a high mountain to say to the cities of Judah, Here is your God. Two images stand together, His arm establishes His rule, and at once He tends His flock like a shepherd. The arm that rules is the arm that carries.
This site's exposition
His arm establishes His rule
Cyril of Alexandria reads the arm as the authority of Christ, the divine strength He showed in power and dominion. Barnes takes the reward and recompense that come with Him as the reward He brings for His people. Revelation 22:12 takes up the same words for the returning Christ.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
These words are a glimpse of the second coming of the Savior. It is then that he will give the laborers their reward. "He will reward each according to his works," according to the word of the apostle. "For the Day," he says, "will declare …
(V. 9 and following) Ascend to the high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good news to Jerusalem. Lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, 'Here is your God!' See, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm rules for Him. See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads the nursing ewes. LXX: Go up on a high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good tidings to Jerusalem. Lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.' The choir of the Apostles is commanded to ascend to the preaching of all flesh, which is going to see the salvation of God, and to dwell in high places, about to speak about great things. Moreover, the Hebrew and other interpreters put it in the feminine gender, so that they say, 'you who preach the gospel to Zion and you who preach the gospel to Jerusalem.' This word is ambiguous according to the Greeks, so that we can understand it as either the one who announces or the one to whom the announcement is made. Therefore, whether the word of God and the saving word of the Lord are announced to Zion and Jerusalem: for the law went forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isaiah II, 3); or whether it is announced to them through the Apostles, they ought to ascend to the heights and pass over the mountains. […]
We must … be zealous in doing good, for all things are from him. [Isaiah] warns us, "Behold, the Lord comes, and his reward is before his face, to pay each person according to his work." He therefore urges us who believe in him with all our heart not to be lazy or careless in any good work. Let our glorying and our confidence be in him. Let us be subject to his will.
The Medieval Church2 voices
"Behold, his reward is with him," that is, Behold, the works of each person are conspicuous before God, and he judges according to what each of us has done, by granting a reward to the good and by abandoning the evil to punishment.
Behold the Lord. Here he shows the condition of the one who comes. And first, he shows that he will come strong to liberate: with strength, and his arm, his strength on the day of judgment; or in the first coming of Christ, in the …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Behold, the Lord God will come with a strong hand,....
Some read, it, He will come against the mighty one, and overpower him, overcome him. Satan is the strong man armed; but our Lord Jesus is stronger than he, and he shall make it to appear that he is so, for, (1.) He shall reign in defiance of all opposition: His arm shall rule, shall overrule for him, for the fulfilling of his counsels, to his own glory; for he is his own end.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Or, against the strong one, namely, Satan (Mt 12:29; Re 20:2, 3, 10) [VITRINGA]. arm--power (Ps 89:13; 98:1). for him--that is, He needs not to seek help for Himself from any external source, but by His own inherent power He gains rule for Himself (so Isa 40:14). work--or, "recompense for his work"; rather, "recompense which He gives for work" (Isa 62:11;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
His reward is with him, and his work before him. “His reward is with him, and the recompense of his work before him” - That is, the reward and the recompense which he bestows, and which he will pay to his faithful servants; this he has ready at hand with him, and holds it out before him, to encourage those who trust in him and wait for him.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Behold, the Lord God will come - (See the note at Isa 40:3) Applied to the condition of the Jews in exile, this means that God would come to deliver them. Applied to the times of the Messiah, it means that God would manifest himself in a powerful manner as mighty to save. With strong hand - (בחזק bechâzâq). Margin, ‘Against the strong.’ So Vitringa and others understand it; and regard it as referring to the mighty enemies of the people of God, or, as Vitringa particularly supposes, to the great foe of God and his people - the prince of darkness - the devil. Lowth also translates it in this manner, ‘Against the strong one.’ The Septuagint renders it, Μετά ἰσχύος Meta ischuos - ‘With strength.’ This is the more probable meaning - that the Lord would come with the manifestation of strength and power, able to subdue and vanquish all the enemies of his people, and to effect their complete and final salvation. And his arm - The arm is a symbol of strength, because it is by that that we accomplish our purposes; by that a conqueror slays his enemies in battle, etc. Thus, ‘Break thou the arm of the wicked;’ that is, diminish or destroy his power Psa 10:15. ‘I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt’ (Eze 30:21; compare Jer 48:25). Thus it is said of God, ‘Thou hast a mighty arm’ Psa 89:13, and, ‘His holy arm hath gotten him the victory’ (Psa 98:1; compare Exo 6:6). The metaphor is taken from the act of stretching out the arm to fight in battle, where the arm is the effective instrument in subduing an enemy. Shall rule for him - Lowth renders the phrase, לו lō, ‘for him,’ ‘over him:’ - ‘And his arm shall prevail over him;’ that is, over the strong and mighty foe. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Behold, the Lord God shall be revealed, and the strength of the arm of His might shall rule before Him: behold, the reward of those who perform His word is with Him, because their works are manifest to Him.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Like a shepherd [who] tends his flock Like a shepherd who tends his flock; with his arm he gathers lambs, and he carries them in his bosom.
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. 2 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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּ֨ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֤י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| בְּחָזָ֣ק | bechazak | <in> a strong [one] | H2389 → | 56 times |
| יָב֔וֹא | yavo' | he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וּזְרֹע֖וֹ | uzeroo | and arm his | H2220 → | 91 times |
| מֹ֣שְׁלָה | moshelah | [is] ruling | H4910 → | 81 times |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | for him | ||
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| שְׂכָרוֹ֙ | sekharo | reward his | H7939 → | |
| אִתּ֔וֹ | ʾito | [is] with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| וּפְעֻלָּת֖וֹ | ufeulato | and recompense his | H6468 → | 14 times |
| לְפָנָֽיו׃ | lefanav | [is] <to> before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
הִנֵּ֨הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אֲדֹנָ֤י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
בְּחָזָ֣ק<in> a strong [one]
bechazakH2389 →56 times
יָב֔וֹאhe will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
וּזְרֹע֖וֹand arm his
uzerooH2220 →91 times
מֹ֣שְׁלָה[is] ruling
moshelahH4910 →81 times
ל֑וֹfor him
lo
הִנֵּ֤הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
שְׂכָרוֹ֙reward his
sekharoH7939 →
אִתּ֔וֹ[is] with him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
וּפְעֻלָּת֖וֹand recompense his
ufeulatoH6468 →14 times
לְפָנָֽיו׃[is] <to> before him
lefanavH6440 →2123 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
Isaiah 62:11Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: See, your Savior comes! Look, His reward is with Him, and His recompense goes before Him.”
it leads to
- Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of…
- Matthew 21:5
“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
- John 12:15
“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion. See, your King is coming, seated on the colt of a donkey.”
- Zechariah 9:9
Through
Matthew 28:18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
it leads to
- John 3:35
The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.
- 1 Peter 3:22
who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.
- Matthew 11:27
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses…
- Ephesians 1:20–22
which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,
- John 3:35
Through
Revelation 22:12“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.
it leads to
- Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
- Matthew 16:27
Where this verse is studied
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About Isaiah
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Clement of Rome, 1 CLEMENT 34:2-5; Cyril of Alexandria, LETTER 1:31; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 40:10; 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; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:40.10 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.