7 Scrolls

What Does Isaiah 40:31 Mean?

Isaiah 40:31 means that people who wait on God, trusting and hoping in God rather than in their own reserves, receive new strength. It was first spoken to tired exiles who felt forgotten. The eagle, the runner and the walker picture strength renewed for every pace of life, not escape from it.

·

Part of Bible Verses Explained: famous verses read in context, in two public-domain translations.

Isaiah 40:31 in the BSB and WEB

BSB Berean Standard Bible

But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 (BSB)

WEB World English Bible

but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 (WEB)

What does Isaiah 40:31 mean in short?

Israel complained that God had lost track of them. Isaiah answers that the Creator never tires and shares strength with the weak. Waiting on the LORD means looking to God with expectant trust. The result is renewed strength: soaring at times, running at times, and simply walking on without fainting.

What is the context of Isaiah 40:31?

Speaker
The prophet, speaking for the LORD, the Holy One of Israel
First heard by
Israel, addressed as Jacob, worn down by exile and wondering if God still cared
Situation
Isaiah 40–55 speaks to the Babylonian exile of the sixth century BC; whether Isaiah of the eighth century or a later prophet wrote these chapters is debated

The book of Isaiah shifts its tone at chapter 40. Earlier chapters warn of judgment. Now the first words are comfort (Isaiah 40:1), spoken to a people who have already lost Jerusalem and live in Babylon. Jewish and Christian tradition has long credited the whole book to Isaiah son of Amoz. Many modern scholars think chapters 40–55 come from an unnamed prophet in his tradition, active during the exile. Readers on both sides agree on the audience: exhausted exiles.

Isaiah 40:12–26 builds a picture of God’s greatness. God measures the oceans, sees the nations as a drop in a bucket, and calls every star by name so that none goes missing. Then Isaiah 40:27 quotes Israel’s complaint: their way is hidden from the LORD and their cause is ignored. The point of the star image lands here. A God who loses no star has not lost track of Israel.

Isaiah 40:28–30 answers the complaint directly. The everlasting God does not grow tired, and gives power to the faint. Even young people, at their physical peak, run out of energy. Our verse is the turn: but those who wait upon the LORD. Chapter 41 then carries the same reassurance forward in Isaiah 41:10, where God promises to strengthen and help.

Read it with the verses around it

Here Is Your God!

25 “To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”?

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.

29 He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.

31 But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:25–31 (BSB). Section headings are from the Berean Standard Bible.

What does Isaiah 40:31 mean, phrase by phrase?

“But those who wait upon the LORD”

The Hebrew verb qavah means to wait with expectation, and it overlaps with the idea of hope. It is not passive killing of time. It is looking to God for help while the answer has not yet come. That is why this verse is often read alongside what the Bible says about hope.

“will renew their strength”

The verb suggests exchanging or replacing, like trading spent strength for fresh. The source of new strength is the God described in Isaiah 40:28–29, who never tires. Strength is received, not produced by trying harder.

“they will mount up with wings like eagles”

The Hebrew word nesher can mean an eagle or a large vulture, both birds that ride rising air with little effort. Exodus 19:4 already used eagles’ wings for how God carried Israel out of Egypt. For exiles facing a long road home, the image recalls that first rescue.

“they will run and not grow weary”

This line echoes Isaiah 40:30, where even youths grow tired and weary. The same words are now reversed. What natural vigor cannot sustain, God can.

“they will walk and not faint”

The order runs from flying to running to walking. Some readers see an anticlimax, but many find it realistic. Most of life is walking, and the promise reaches ordinary, steady days as much as dramatic ones.

What does Isaiah 40:31 not mean?

Misreading: Waiting on the LORD means doing nothing until God acts.

In context: The waiting in Isaiah 40:31 is active trust. The exiles still had to rise and walk home. Waiting describes where they looked for strength, not a reason to stop moving.

Misreading: The verse teaches that eagles renew themselves by plucking out old feathers, so believers must go through a painful renewal.

In context: That story is a popular sermon illustration, not part of the text, and it does not describe real eagles. Isaiah uses the simple picture of a bird soaring on the wind.

Misreading: Isaiah 40:31 promises that faithful people will never feel tired.

In context: The verse is addressed to people who already feel faint. It promises renewed strength for the weary, which assumes weariness is real and returns.

How do different Jewish and Christian traditions read Isaiah 40:31?

  • Jewish readers: Often read the chapter as comfort for Israel in exile and a promise of return to Zion, with waiting tied to faithful hope in God’s covenant.
  • Many Christian readers: Read the same promise as applying to followers of Jesus in seasons of exhaustion, and connect it to New Testament language about the inner self being renewed day by day.

How can you apply Isaiah 40:31 today?

  • When you feel spent, read Isaiah 40:26–31 slowly and notice how the complaint in verse 27 is answered by who God is, not by a list of tips.
  • Name one ordinary task this week that feels like walking, not soaring, and treat faithfulness in it as part of what this verse describes.
  • Practice waiting as an action: pray about one need and write down what you will keep doing while you wait.
  • Learn the three verbs, mount up, run, walk, as a short memory verse to recall when energy runs low.

Which verses connect to Isaiah 40:31?

27Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”? 28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. 29He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.

Isaiah 40:27–29 BSB

The complaint and the answer right before the verse: the tireless God gives power to the faint.

‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.

Exodus 19:4 BSB

God says Israel was carried on eagles’ wings out of Egypt, the image Isaiah draws on.

Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!

Psalm 27:14 BSB

David links waiting for the LORD with being strong and courageous.

who satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalm 103:5 BSB

Another psalm pictures youth renewed like the eagle’s through God’s good gifts.

25The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. 26It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:25–26 BSB

Written after Jerusalem fell, it says the LORD is good to those who wait and seek.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16 BSB

Paul writes that the inner self is being renewed day by day even as the body wears out.

Questions for reflection

  1. Where do you feel most like the exiles in Isaiah 40:27, unseen or overlooked?
  2. What does waiting with expectation look like in a situation you cannot fix?
  3. Which part of your life right now feels like walking rather than flying?

Can you remember it?

Read it out loud twice, then cover it and fill the gap.

Fill in the missing word

But those who wait upon the LORD will _____ their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 (BSB)

Show the answer

renew

More drills: 50 memory verses by theme and seven ways to memorize Scripture.

In summary

  • Isaiah 40:31 answers exiles who believed God had forgotten them.
  • The tireless Creator of Isaiah 40:28 shares strength with the faint.
  • Waiting on the LORD means trusting and looking to God with hope.
  • Soaring, running and walking describe strength for every pace of life.
  • The promise is renewed strength, not a life without weariness.

Frequently asked questions

What does wait upon the LORD mean in Isaiah 40:31?

The Hebrew verb qavah means to wait with hope and expectation. It describes looking to God for help, trusting before the answer arrives. It does not mean idleness.

Why does Isaiah use eagles?

Large birds of prey soar on rising air with little effort, a picture of strength that is carried rather than forced. The image also recalls Exodus 19:4, where God carried Israel on eagles’ wings out of Egypt.

Who was Isaiah 40:31 written for?

It was addressed to Israel, called Jacob, in the setting of the Babylonian exile. Isaiah 40:27 shows they felt their cause was ignored by God. The verse answers that fear.

Did Isaiah write chapter 40?

Tradition credits Isaiah son of Amoz, an eighth century BC prophet. Many modern scholars think chapters 40–55 were written by a later prophet during the exile. Both views read the chapter as a message to exiles.

Why does the verse end with walking instead of flying?

Some read the sequence as moving from rare moments to everyday life. Walking without fainting describes steady endurance, which is what most of life requires. The promise covers ordinary days, not only dramatic ones.