Bible Strands
Isaiah 49:13
Shout 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses the cosmos and Israel immediately after promising the gathering of exiles from distant lands and directly preceding Zion’s complaint of divine abandonment.
The words — The Hebrew imperative רָנּוּ (ra.Nu) commands a loud shout of joy, while the conjunction כִּי־ (ki-) establishes the causal foundation for the command.
The thread — This cosmic rejoicing motif recurs in Isaiah 44:23, Isaiah 51:3, and Psalm 96:11, consistently linking creation’s response to God’s redemptive acts.
Why it lands — The text states that Yahweh has already comforted His people and will show compassion to the afflicted, requiring the reader to accept this divine action as the objective basis for rejoicing rather than relying on present circumstances.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 44:23 Sing 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 redeemed Jacob, and revealed His glory in Israel.
- 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 will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song.
- Psalms 96:11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea resound, and all that fills it.
- Isaiah 40:1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
- Isaiah 52:9 Break forth in joy, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem.
- Luke 2:13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:
- Psalms 98:4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth—let your cry ring out, and sing praises!
- Isaiah 12:1 In that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You. Although You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away, and You have comforted me.
- Isaiah 42:10 Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise from the ends of the earth—you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who dwell in them.
- Isaiah 55:12 You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.