Isaiah 35:4
“Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Context
Isaiah 35 paints a vision of restoration -- a blossoming wilderness and a redeemed people. Verse 4 encourages the fearful with the promise of God's saving coming.
What Does Isaiah 35:4 Mean?
Isaiah 35:4 is a word of courage for the fearful, assuring them that God Himself will come to save. The verse is spoken as a charge to encourage others -- "Say to them that are of a fearful heart" -- making it a ministry of comfort passed from one trembling person to another. The literal phrase is "hasty heart," picturing a heart anxious and racing with dread.
To such hearts come two commands and a promise. "Be strong, fear not" is not a demand to manufacture courage by sheer willpower, but a call to take heart because of what follows. The reason is the coming of God: "behold, your God will come." He comes "with vengeance" and "recompence" -- He will set right what is wrong, repaying the oppressor and rescuing the oppressed. For the fearful, this is not threat but rescue: the same coming that judges evil also saves the afflicted. The verse climaxes in pure good news -- "he will come and save you." Fear is answered not by gritted teeth but by the certainty of God's arrival. The surrounding chapter pictures the blind seeing, the lame leaping, the desert blooming. Into that landscape of restoration this promise lands: take courage, your God is on His way to save.
In the Original Language
"Be strong" is chizqu, a call to take courage. "Fearful heart" is literally nimharei lev, a hasty or anxious heart racing with dread.
Cross References
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee.”
- Isaiah 41:10
“Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee.”
- Joshua 1:9
“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”
- Luke 21:28
Application
Speak courage to the anxious, including yourself, by pointing not to your own resolve but to the certainty that God is coming to save.