What is the meaning of Isaiah 40:5?

And the glory of the LORD will be revealed

• Isaiah’s promise looks ahead to unmistakable manifestations of God’s splendor—moments when He makes His presence visible and undeniable (Exodus 16:10; 1 Kings 8:10–11).

• Ultimately this revelation centers on Jesus Christ: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory” (John 1:14); at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2); in the resurrection (Romans 1:4); and forever in the New Jerusalem, where “the glory of God gives it light” (Revelation 21:23).

• God’s revealed glory comforts weary exiles in Isaiah 40, assuring them that the God who comes in brightness will also come in power to rescue (Isaiah 40:10–11).

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and all humanity together will see it

• Isaiah widens the lens: what Israel glimpsed, the whole world will witness (Psalm 98:2–3).

• Luke quotes this phrase when introducing John the Baptist (Luke 3:6), signaling that Christ’s first coming begins the fulfillment.

• The full display awaits Christ’s return: “Every eye will see Him” (Revelation 1:7); “all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

• This universal vision guarantees global acknowledgment—“at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:9–11).

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For the mouth of the LORD has spoken

• The promise rests not on human optimism but on the unbreakable word of God (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2).

• Isaiah stresses the certainty of divine speech again in 55:11—God’s word “will not return to Me empty.”

• Because God’s word is fixed and faithful (Psalm 33:4; Hebrews 6:17–18), the unveiling of His glory and its universal witness are guaranteed realities, not poetic hopes.

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summary

Isaiah 40:5 assures us that God Himself will step into history, display His radiant majesty, and make that revelation impossible to miss. In Jesus’ first coming we taste this glory; in His return the entire human family will behold it. The promise is rock-solid, anchored in the unfailing word of the Lord.