Bible Strands
Isaiah 40:11
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaiah addresses exiles in Babylon at the hinge between judgment (ch. 1–39) and comfort (ch. 40–55), announcing that the Lord is coming to redeem. The verse sits between two images of cosmic power (40:10, 12), making the shepherd tenderness a deliberate contrast, not a softening.
The words — חֵיק (ḥēq, "bosom") locates the lambs against the shepherd's body, an intimacy that goes beyond standard flock-management language. יִשָּׂא (yisśāʾ, "he will carry") is the verb that gives the image physical weight: the lambs are lifted, not merely guided.
The thread — The shepherd motif runs from Psalms 23:1 ("The LORD is my shepherd") through Micah 5:4 (the ruler who "will stand and shepherd His flock") to Revelation 7:17, where the Lamb on the throne is the shepherd who leads to living water. Isaiah 40:11 is the verse where the image reaches its most bodily, tender form.
Why it lands — The reader is the lamb: small, dependent, carried. The verse asks them to stop performing self-sufficiency and accept being held by a God whose power (40:10) and gentleness (40:11) are the same hand.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Cross-references
- Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- Psalms 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- Micah 5:4 He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.
- Ezekiel 34:23 I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
- John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
- Isaiah 49:9 to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill.
- Ezekiel 34:12 As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
- 1 Peter 2:25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
- Ezekiel 34:31 ‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
- John 21:15 When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”