Isaiah 49:13
in Isaiah 49Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; break forth in song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for Jehovah hath comforted his people, and will have compassion upon his afflicted.
KJV
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
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This verse in Isaiah 49
Commentary
11 notes on this verseWe say that those humble ones who submit their necks to Christ and who do not despise the yoke of a kingdom under him, in that they welcome faith, will be fit to worship him in spirit and in truth. [They will] fulfill the worship of those who did not receive faith, those who were not humble but raised their proud horns in the air and spoke unrighteousness against him and his holy prophecies and who exulted in stretching out the neck of their understanding. These were not worthy of spiritual consolation, for they were not deserving.
This site's exposition
They will not hunger or thirst
on Isaiah 49:10-13
The regathering is a flock led by the LORD, who “will guide them and lead them beside springs of water”, an image John’s Gospel echoes. The exiles come “from the north and from the west”, and from Sinim, which the Berean reads as “the land of Aswan”.
This site's exposition
Shout for joy, O heavens
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown weigh the word His. God has compassion on the afflicted as afflicted, and on His afflicted ones because of the covenant. Barnes sets the song against the light promised to the nations in verse 6.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
It should be noted with attention that he has not made mention here either of Israel or of Jacob but that he has given the name of "people" to those he has assembled from all parts and has deemed worthy of salvation. He has again …
(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.'
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he sets out the thanksgiving: give praise, O you heavens: let the heavens and the earth praise him (Ps 68:35[69:34]).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Let there be joy in heaven, and let the angels of God celebrate the praises of the great Redeemer; let the earth and the mountains, particularly the great ones of the earth, be joyful, and break forth into singing, for the earnest expectation of the creature that waits for the glorious liberty of the children of God ( Rom. viii.
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Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Sing, O heavens - In view of the glorious truths stated in the previous verses, that kings should rise up, and princes worship; that the Messiah would be for a light to the Gentiles, and that the true religion would be extended to each of the four quarters of the globe. The idea in this verse is, that it was an occasion on which the heavens and the earth would have cause to exult together.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
God will have mercy on the afflicted, because of His compassion; on His afflicted, because of His covenant.
Break forth into singing, O mountains “Ye mountains, burst forth into song” - Three ancient MSS. are without the י yod or the conjunction ו vau before the verb: and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רָנּ֤וּ | ranu | shout for joy | H7442 → | 54 times |
| שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ | shamayim | O heaven | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְגִ֣ילִי | vegili | and be glad | H1523 → | 45 times |
| אָ֔רֶץ | ʾaretz | O earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וּפִצְח֥וּ | vuftzechu | and break forth | H6476 → | 8 times |
| הָרִ֖ים | harim | O mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| רִנָּ֑ה | rinah | a shout of joy | H7440 → | 33 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִחַ֤ם | nicham | he has comforted | H5162 → | 108 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עַמּ֔וֹ | amo | people his | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַעֲנִיָּ֖ו | vaaniyav | and afflicted [people] his | H6041 → | 73 times |
| יְרַחֵֽם׃ ס | yerachem | he has compassion on | H7355 → | 47 times |
רָנּ֤וּshout for joy
ranuH7442 →54 times
שָׁמַ֙יִם֙O heaven
shamayimH8064 →421 times
וְגִ֣ילִיand be glad
vegiliH1523 →45 times
אָ֔רֶץO earth
ʾaretzH776 →2504 times
וּפִצְח֥וּand break forth
vuftzechuH6476 →8 times
הָרִ֖יםO mountains
harimH2022 →546 times
רִנָּ֑הa shout of joy
rinahH7440 →33 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נִחַ֤םhe has comforted
nichamH5162 →108 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עַמּ֔וֹpeople his
amoH5971 →1873 times
וַעֲנִיָּ֖וand afflicted [people] his
vaaniyavH6041 →73 times
יְרַחֵֽם׃ סhe has compassion on
yerachemH7355 →47 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 44:23Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O depths of the earth. Break forth in song, O mountains, you forests and all your trees. For the LORD has…
it leads to
- Ephesians 1:6–7
to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
- Revelation 5:8–14
When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which…
- Psalms 69:34
Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
- Ephesians 1:6–7
Through
Isaiah 51:3For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness…
it leads to
- Joel 2:3
Before them a fire devours, and behind them a flame scorches. The land before them is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland—surely nothing will escape them.
- Isaiah 52:9
Break forth in joy, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem.
- Joel 2:3
Through
Isaiah 52:9Break forth in joy, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Psalms 98:4
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth—let your cry ring out, and sing praises!
- Isaiah 51:3
For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness…
- Isaiah 48:20
Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare it with a shout of joy, proclaim it, let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!”
- Psalms 98:4
Where this verse is studied
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 on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 4:4.49:13; 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; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.13 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.
