Isaiah 49:11
in Isaiah 49I will turn all My mountains into roads, and My highways will be raised up.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
KJV
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
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This verse in Isaiah 49
Commentary
11 notes on this verseIf some come "from the north" and some "from the sea," that is, from the western parts, and others come "from the land of the Persians" (meaning the highlands), then those in the first clause who are from the land far away are called "of the midday," since the uncircumscribable southern country lies among the midday people. These people are the ones who "shall come from a distance." But the word prophesies that they will come from all over, from the four latitudes to God and will receive the promises spoken to them.
This site's exposition
They shall not hunger nor thirst
on Isaiah 49:10-13
The regathering is pictured as a flock led by the Lord himself: they shall not hunger nor thirst, and he that hath mercy on them shall lead them by the springs of water, an image the fourth Gospel's Good Shepherd language echoes. Mountains become a highway and the exiles come from the north, the west, and the land of Sinim, a name the older commentators debate between a southern Egyptian region and the far east, without settling it. The song closes as it must, with heaven and earth called to sing because the Lord hath comforted his people.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Versed 8 and following) Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages; saying to the prisoners, 'Come out,' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.'
According to one interpretation, this refers to the lowly and Jewish people. According to another, this is the entire gathering of souls that make up the godly spiritual commonwealth. According to a still further interpretation, this is the angelic order about which the apostle says, "She is the free Jerusalem of above that is our mother," and "you have come to Zion, the mountain and city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." The present word is addressed to the godly communion that formerly comprised the Jews. But they were brought down and suffered a fall, forfeiting their place to the church of the Gentiles.
The Medieval Church1 voice
903. Third, he promises liberation itself, setting out the preparation of the ways: and I will make all my mountains a way, that is, princes will help you to return, above: every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But this is directed to the isles (that is, the Gentiles, for they are called the isles of the Gentiles, Gen. x. 5 ) and to the people from far, that were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, and afar off.
When God pleases even highway ground shall be good ground for the sheep of his pasture to feed in. Their pastures shall be not only in the valleys, but in all high places, which are commonly dry and barren. Wherever God brings his people he will take care they shall want nothing that is good for them, Ps. xxxiv.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The levelling of the roads from Babylon, as it was foretold ( ch. xl. 2, 3 ), was applied to gospel work, and so may this be. Though there be difficulties in the way to heaven, which we cannot by our own strength get over, yet the grace of God shall be sufficient to help us over them and to make even the mountains a way, ch. xxxv.
And I will make all my mountains a way,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And I will make all my mountains a way - I will make all the mountains for a highway; or an even, level way. That is, he would remove all obstructions from their path. The image is taken from the return from Babylon to the land of Palestine, in which God so often promises to make the hills a plain, and the crooked places straight (see the notes at Isa 40:4).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
62:10); for instance, over valleys. VITRINGA explains "mountains" as great kingdoms, Egypt, Syria, &c., subjected to Rome, to facilitate the spreading of the Gospel; "highways," the Christian doctrine wherein those who join the Church walk, and which, at the time of Constantine, was to be raised into prominence before all, and publicly protected (Isa 35:8, 9).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And I will make all My mountains into a road In contrast to what he said concerning the days of its ruin (supra:8) “The wayfarer has stopped,” now the wayfarers shall return and go therein.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
from the land of Sinim [Jonathan renders:] from the southland.
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. 6 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
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשַׂמְתִּ֥י | vesamti | and I will make | H7760 → | 584 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָרַ֖י | harai | mountains my | H2022 → | 546 times |
| לַדָּ֑רֶךְ | ladarekh | into <the> road | H1870 → | 707 times |
| וּמְסִלֹּתַ֖י | umesilotai | and highways my | H4546 → | 27 times |
| יְרֻמֽוּן׃ | yerumun | they will be lifted up ! | H7311 → | 190 times |
וְשַׂמְתִּ֥יand I will make
vesamtiH7760 →584 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הָרַ֖יmountains my
haraiH2022 →546 times
לַדָּ֑רֶךְinto <the> road
ladarekhH1870 →707 times
וּמְסִלֹּתַ֖יand highways my
umesilotaiH4546 →27 times
יְרֻמֽוּן׃they will be lifted up !
yerumunH7311 →190 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
John 14:6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
it leads to
- Acts 4:12
Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
- John 10:9
I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
- Ephesians 2:18
For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
- John 11:25–26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
- John 1:4
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
- Acts 4:12
Through
Isaiah 62:10Go out, go out through the gates; prepare the way for the people! Build it up, build up the highway; clear away the stones; raise a banner for the nations!
it leads to
- Isaiah 57:14
And it will be said, “Build it up, build it up, prepare the way, take every obstacle out of the way of My people.”
- Isaiah 40:3
A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
- Isaiah 49:22
This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry…
- Isaiah 57:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:35; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.