“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 40:9 Mean?
Isaiah 40:9 marks one of the most dramatic tonal shifts in all of Scripture. After thirty-nine chapters of judgment, warning, and impending doom, chapter 40 opens with "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people" (v. 1) and builds to this crescendo: "Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!" The Hebrew hinneh eloheykhem — look, see, here is your God — is an announcement of arrival. God isn't coming eventually. He's here.
The messenger is told to climb a high mountain — not to hide, but to amplify. "Lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid." The repetition is deliberate. This message is too important for timidity. The good tidings (mevasseret, from the root basar, meaning to announce good news — the same root behind the New Testament word euangelion, gospel) must be shouted from elevation with full volume.
The margin note reveals a translation ambiguity: Zion is either the messenger or the recipient. Either way, Jerusalem — the city that suffered judgment, exile, and devastation — is now either hearing or proclaiming the best possible news: your God is here. The exile is over. The silence is broken. After everything, He came back. Or more accurately: He was always coming.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you been through a season where God felt absent? What was it like when you sensed His presence return?
- 2.Why do you think the messenger is told 'be not afraid'? What's scary about delivering good news?
- 3.What would it look like for you to 'lift up your voice with strength' about what God has done in your life?
- 4.Who in your life needs to hear 'Behold your God' right now — and what's keeping you from telling them?
Devotional
After everything — the warnings, the judgment, the exile, the silence — God's message to His broken people is three words: Behold your God.
Not "behold your punishment." Not "behold your failure." Your God. He's here. He showed up. And the instruction to the messenger is extraordinary: get to the highest point you can find, and scream it. Don't whisper this in a corner. Don't share it carefully with a select few. Climb a mountain, open your mouth, use every ounce of strength you have, and do not be afraid. This news is too good for indoor voices.
If you've been through a long season of silence — where God felt distant, where the consequences of your choices or circumstances seemed to stretch endlessly — this verse is the moment the silence breaks. "Behold your God" doesn't mean He just arrived. It means the fog cleared enough for you to see He was there the whole time. The exile felt like abandonment. It wasn't. The silence felt like rejection. It wasn't. And now the message comes: look up. He's here. And the appropriate response isn't quiet gratitude. It's climbing the highest thing you can find and shouting it to everyone who needs to hear.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
O Zion, that bringest good tidings,.... Or, "O thou that bringest good tidings to Zion (n)"; which rendering of the…
O Zion, that bringest good tidings - This is evidently the continuance of what the ‘voice’ said, or of the annunciation…
It was promised (Isa 40:5) that the glory of the Lord shall be revealed; that is it with the hopes of which God's people…
The prophet announces the triumphal approach of Jehovah to Zion.
O Zion … tidings R.V. has O thou that tellest good…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture