The Meaning of Isaiah 49:11 Explained

Isaiah 49:11

KJV: And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

YLT: And I have made all My mountains for a way, And My highways are lifted up.

Darby: And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be raised up.

ASV: And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I will make  all my mountains  a way,  and my highways  shall be exalted. 

What does Isaiah 49:11 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God will also make His mountainous barriers as flat as a road so His people can come to His habitation. He will also build His highways so they will be thoroughfares for His people (cf. Isaiah 11:16; Isaiah 19:23; Isaiah 36:8; Isaiah 40:3-4; Isaiah 42:16; Isaiah 62:10).

Context Summary

Isaiah 49:1-13 - "a Light To The Gentiles"
The first division of this second part of Isaiah closes at Isaiah 48:22, with the phrase there is no peace to the wicked. The second division of part 2 closes with a similar phrase, Isaiah 57:21. The first division here ends with the proclamation for Israel to leave Babylon. They need never have gone there. If only they have been obedient in every particular theirs would have been the happy lot of Isaiah 48:18, as contrasted with Isaiah 48:22. But even under such circumstances, in captivity and as slaves of the Chaldeans the redeeming grace of God would triumph, Isaiah 48:20; Isaiah 49:5.
The second great division of Part 2 opens with Isaiah 49:1. In their first and immediate reference, these verses evidently apply to our Lord. See Acts 13:47, etc. In the mission of Jesus, the ideal of the Hebrew race was realized. As the white flower on the stalk He revealed the essential beauty and glory of the root, Isaiah 49:6. See Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:1-2; Matthew 2:14-15, etc.
There is a secondary sense, also, in which the Christian worker may appropriate many things in this glowing paragraph. Our mouth must be surrendered to God, that He may use it for His own high purposes. But do not dread the shadow of His hand. It is the quiver case in which He keeps His chosen arrows against the battle! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 49

1  Christ being sent to the Jews, complains of them
5  He is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises
13  God's love is perpetual to his church
18  The ample restoration of the church
24  The powerful deliverance out of captivity

What do the individual words in Isaiah 49:11 mean?

And I will make each of My mountains a road and My highways shall be elevated
וְשַׂמְתִּ֥י כָל־ הָרַ֖י לַדָּ֑רֶךְ וּמְסִלֹּתַ֖י יְרֻמֽוּן

וְשַׂמְתִּ֥י  And  I  will  make 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
כָל־  each 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הָרַ֖י  of  My  mountains 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
לַדָּ֑רֶךְ  a  road 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
וּמְסִלֹּתַ֖י  and  My  highways 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: מְסִלָּה  
Sense: highway, raised way, public road.
יְרֻמֽוּן  shall  be  elevated 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, Paragogic nun
Root: יָרוּם 
Sense: to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted.