Isaiah 54:10
in Isaiah 54Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but my lovingkindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall my covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee.
KJV
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
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This verse in Isaiah 54
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Vers. 9, 10.) As in the days of Noah, this is for me, to whom I swore, that I would not bring the waters of Noah any more over the earth: so have I sworn, not to be angry with you, and not to rebuke you. For the mountains shall be moved, and the hills shall tremble: but my mercy shall not depart from you, and the covenant of my peace shall not be moved, says the Lord, your merciful one.
This site's exposition
waters of Noah
on Isaiah 54:9-10
The oath after the flood becomes the pattern: “when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you”, tying this promise to Genesis 9:11.
This site's exposition
My covenant of peace will not be broken
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read the covenant of peace as the covenant by which God makes Zion at peace with Himself (2 Sam 23:5). Matthew Henry grounds it in the compassion of the LORD, which runs from everlasting to everlasting. Aquinas reads the mountains as the mighty of the earth.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, from the operation of stable creatures: for the mountains shall be moved, as if to say: it is easier for mountains and hills to be changed than for my words to be made void. Or, by mountains and hills, the powerful of the earth …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
7 ); but God's kindness shall never depart from his people, for whom he loves he loves to the end; nor shall the covenant of his peace ever be removed, for he is the Lord that has mercy on his people. Therefore the covenant is immovable and inviolable, because it is built not on our merit, which is a mutable uncertain thing, but on God's mercy, which is from everlasting to everlasting.
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For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For the mountains shall depart - (See the notes at Isa 51:6). The covenant of my peace - That is, the covenant by which I promise peace and prosperity to thee.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Ro 11:29). covenant of my peace-- (2Sa 23:5). The covenant whereby I have made thee at peace with Me.
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2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
THIS precious passage is the property of all true Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We might not have ventured to say this if it were not for the last verse of the chapter, which assures us that it is so. "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, says the Lord."
THIS precious passage is the property of all true Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We might not have ventured to say this if it were not for the last verse of the chapter, which assures us that it is so. "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, says the Lord." The matchless promises and assurances of this chapter do not belong to the Jews, alone, nor only to the Gentile Church, nor even exclusively to the whole Church considered as a community—they are the property of all who are sons and servants of the living God. Isaiah speaks of both sonship and service. "This is the heritage," or portion obtained by heirship, which implies sonship. The promise, then, is ours, if we have been born into the family of Grace. But then, all God's sons are also servants, even as the Firstborn among many brethren became a Servant of servants for our sakes. Judge yourselves, dear Friends, as to whether you are sons of God by birth and servants of God by choice, for if you are, then you may take these promises to yourselves. In the last clause it is written, "Their righteousness is of Me, says the Lord." In this we can claim our part, for we have no righteousness of our own! But it has pleased the Lord to work a righteousness for us and a righteousness in us, since we stood in great need of both of these. Neither could we, by any means, have procured them for ourselves. If the Lord Jesus had not been made unto us both our justification and our sanctification, we could have had no hope of seeing the face of God with acceptance. If we are sons by regeneration and servants by the renewal of our nature. And if our righteousness, both imputed and imparted, is found in God, alone, then the text is ours most richly to enjoy! Stand not back from a table so richly spread, but eat and drink abundantly of its dainty provisions.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
For the mountains shall depart Even if the merit of the Patriarchs and the Matriarchs is depleted, My kindness shall not depart from you.
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. 4 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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הֶֽהָרִים֙ | heharim | the mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| יָמ֔וּשׁוּ | yamushu | they will be removed | H4185 → | 20 times |
| וְהַגְּבָע֖וֹת | vehagevaot | and the hills | H1389 → | 68 times |
| תְּמוּטֶ֑נָה | temutenah | they will shake | H4131 → | 38 times |
| וְחַסְדִּ֞י | vechasdi | and covenant loyalty my | H2617 → | 247 times |
| מֵאִתֵּ֣ךְ | meitekh | from with <the> you | H854 → | 929 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָמ֗וּשׁ | yamush | it will be removed | H4185 → | 20 times |
| וּבְרִ֤ית | uverit | and [the] covenant of | H1285 → | 284 times |
| שְׁלוֹמִי֙ | shelomi | peace my | H7965 → | 236 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָמ֔וּט | tamut | it will shake | H4131 → | 38 times |
| אָמַ֥ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מְרַחֲמֵ֖ךְ | merachamekh | [one who] has compassion on you | H7355 → | 47 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ ס | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
הֶֽהָרִים֙the mountains
heharimH2022 →546 times
יָמ֔וּשׁוּthey will be removed
yamushuH4185 →20 times
וְהַגְּבָע֖וֹתand the hills
vehagevaotH1389 →68 times
תְּמוּטֶ֑נָהthey will shake
temutenahH4131 →38 times
וְחַסְדִּ֞יand covenant loyalty my
vechasdiH2617 →247 times
מֵאִתֵּ֣ךְfrom with <the> you
meitekhH854 →929 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָמ֗וּשׁit will be removed
yamushH4185 →20 times
וּבְרִ֤יתand [the] covenant of
uveritH1285 →284 times
שְׁלוֹמִי֙peace my
shelomiH7965 →236 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תָמ֔וּטit will shake
tamutH4131 →38 times
אָמַ֥רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
מְרַחֲמֵ֖ךְ[one who] has compassion on you
merachamekhH7355 →47 times
יְהוָֽה׃ סYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
it leads to
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
- 1 Peter 1:25
but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
- Isaiah 55:11
so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
- Matthew 5:18
For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
- Numbers 23:19
Through
Romans 11:29For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.
it leads to
- Hebrews 7:21
but Jesus became a priest with an oath by the One who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’”
- Malachi 3:6
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
- Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Hebrews 7:21
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Love35 verses
On this page
Studies6
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1306: “Fat Things, Full of Marrow” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.