Isaiah 55:10-11 · Bible study
Isaiah 55:10-11 Commentary: The Unfailing Word
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
How God's word, like rain and snow, always accomplishes what He sends it to do. Exegesis, context, and application for teachers.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God’s word, like rain and snow, unfailingly accomplishes the purpose for which it is sent, it does not return empty.
- Key words: “rain” (gešem), “snow” (šeleg), “word” (dābār), “void” (rêqām, “emptily, without effect”). The Hebrew imperfects for “comes down” and “returns” emphasize habitual action; the perfects for “watered,” “caused to bring forth,” etc. describe completed results.
- Main debate: What is “my word”? Options: (1) God’s promises to restore Israel, (2) the gospel preached to all nations, (3) the eternal Word/Christ (Gill and some early interpreters).
- Theological theme: The efficacy of divine revelation, God’s speech is never meaningless or powerless.
- Best use: Teaching assurance of God’s faithfulness in Scripture, prayer, and evangelism; comfort for those who feel their witness or prayers are fruitless.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
10For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,
11so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
WEB World English Bible 2000
10For as the rain comes down and the snow from the sky, and doesn’t return there, but waters the earth, and makes it grow and bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11so is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do.
KJV King James Version 1769
10For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
10For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
10For, as come down doth the shower, And the snow from the heavens, And thither returneth not, But hath watered the earth, And hath caused it to yield, and to spring up, And hath given seed to the sower, and bread to the eater,
11So is My word that goeth out of My mouth, It turneth not back unto Me empty, But hath done that which I desired, And prosperously effected that for which I sent it.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
10For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall do that which I please, and it shall accomplish that for which I send it.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
10And as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return no more thither, but soak the earth, and water it, and make it to spring, and give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11So shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please, and shall prosper in the things for which I sent it.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Isaiah 55:10
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that these verses declare the absolute certainty of God's word to achieve its intended purpose. The comparison to rain and snow is not decorative but logical: precipitation never falls without producing an effect, it waters, softens, and fertilizes the earth. Keil and Delitzsch describe the word as “endowed with a self-fulfilling energy,” a messenger that runs like a swift herald through the world. Barnes notes that God has “as distinct an intention in his Word as he has in sending down rain upon the earth,” and therefore the gospel no more fails than the rain fails to fall. The Cambridge Bible picks up the same point: the word is “conceived as endowed with a self-fulfilling energy.” Even when the earth appears barren, rock, sand, or the hard human heart, the word still does its work, leaving no excuse and sometimes working change long after it was spoken. All traditions read this as assurance: God’s purpose in revelation will not be thwarted.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God's word always fulfills the purpose for which He sends it—just as rain and snow never fall without watering the earth.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The identity of 'my word' | All traditions affirm the word is God’s revelation, carrying His authority and purpose. | Some see it primarily as the prophetic promise of Israel’s restoration (context of exile). Others broaden it to the gospel message for all nations. A minority (citing the Targum and some church fathers) identify it with the pre-incarnate Christ, the eternal Word. |
| The extent of 'void' | The word will not fail to accomplish God’s intended purpose. | Catholics and many Protestants emphasize that this ensures the effectiveness of Scripture and sacraments; some Reformed traditions stress that it guarantees the success of God’s electing grace, while Arminian traditions hold that the word can be resisted but still leaves people without excuse. |
| Timing of fulfillment | The word will certainly accomplish its goal. | Historicist interpreters link this to the age of the church and the gradual conversion of the world. Eschatological interpreters (e.g., Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) see the final fulfillment at the Jews’ restoration and the new creation. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Isaiah 55 closes the prophet’s great call to repentance and restoration. In verses 6, 7, sinners are invited to seek Yahweh while He may be found, to forsake wicked ways and return for abundant pardon. Then, in verses 8, 9, God declares that His thoughts and ways tower as far above human ones as the heavens are above the earth. This sets the stage for the analogy in verses 10, 11: just as rain and snow descend from those same heavens and do not return until they have watered the earth, so God’s word, the promise of pardon and the coming of the Messiah, will not return empty.
The agricultural image would have hit hard in an ancient Near Eastern setting where a failed rainy season meant famine. Rain and snow were not abstract; they meant life or death. The word “bread” (lechem) in verse 10 and “seed” (zera‘) anchor the metaphor in daily survival. God’s word is not an abstract idea; it is as concrete as the grain that feeds a family or the seed that guarantees next year’s crop. The text moves from this earthy picture to the promise of joy and peace in verses 12, 13, where creation itself breaks into song. The whole passage is a crescendo of confidence: God’s ways are higher, but His word comes down to meet us where we live.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Isaiah 55:10, 11. The Masoretic Text is stable across manuscripts, and the verse is quoted without variation in early Christian literature.
Reception History
Christians across traditions have drawn comfort from this passage as a pledge of God’s faithfulness. The early church saw it as a promise that the gospel would spread irresistibly. Augustine and later medieval writers used it to illustrate the efficacy of divine grace. During the Reformation, Luther and Calvin cited it to assure believers that Scripture does not return empty, bringing either salvation or judgment. Modern hymnody echoes the imagery: hymns such as “Our God, Our Help in Ages Past” draw on the same confidence. The passage remains a favorite for preaching on the power of God’s word, the certainty of prophecy, and the hope of final restoration.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Rain and snow never fall in vain. The natural world operates on a principle of purpose. Precipitation descends, saturates the ground, and produces growth, seed for sowing, bread for eating. No drop is wasted. God embeds intention in the simplest processes of creation.
- God’s word carries the same relentless purpose.The Hebrew verb yāshûb (“return”) is used for both rain and the word: neither turns back until its work is done. The word goes forth from the mouth of Yahweh (mi·ppî, “from my mouth”), a deliberate, personal sending. It carries the sender’s authority and power.
- The intended result is always accomplished.Verse 11 uses the same construction as the rain: “it shall not return to me void (rêqām), but it shall accomplish that which I please.” The word may seem to fail when hearts stay hard, but God’s design is never thwarted, whether judgment, mercy, or the final restoration of all things.
Five-point outline
- The pattern in nature: rain/snow descend from heaven.
- They do not return until they have done their work (watering, sprouting, yielding seed and bread).
- So it is with God’s word: it goes forth from His mouth.
- It will not return empty (rêqām, meaning “in vain, without effect”).
- It fully accomplishes what pleases God and prospers in the very thing He sent it to do.
Illustration hooks
- A farmer who plants seeds in a drought, then watches a steady rain revive the field. He trusts the rain because it has always come before.
- A parent who makes a promise to a child, and keeps it, even when it costs something. The child’s trust grows from the parent’s reliability.
- A friend who sends a letter or message with an important request, and waits confidently for news that it arrived and changed things.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If God’s word always accomplishes its purpose, why do I sometimes feel that prayer or Scripture reading has no effect?
- How do I trust God’s promises when I can’t see them being fulfilled yet?
- What does it mean that the word “prospers” in the thing God sent it to do, does that guarantee my personal success?
Leading a Discussion
This passage compares God’s word to rain and snow, ordinary, life-giving, and unstoppable. The verses sit right after an invitation to turn to God for mercy, and right before a picture of creation rejoicing. The point is not simply that God’s word is powerful, but that it is reliable in the same way the seasons are reliable. Discuss together what that certainty means for how you pray, read Scripture, and share your faith.
Discussion questions
- Read Isaiah 55:10, 11 slowly. What catches your attention in the comparison between rain/snow and God’s word?
- The word “void” (rêqām) in verse 11 means “emptily, without effect.” In what situations can God’s word seem to return empty? How does this passage address that feeling?
- Verse 10 describes how rain “makes the earth bud and sprout” and finally gives “seed to the sower and bread to the eater.” What do these stages suggest about the process of spiritual growth?
- Why is the agricultural image so powerful for an agrarian audience, and what does it say about God’s care for daily needs?
- What does this passage teach you about God’s character? How does it affect your trust in His promises, especially ones that have been slow to materialize?
- How does the wider context (vv. 6, 7 on repentance, vv. 8, 9 on higher thoughts, vv. 12, 13 on joy) shape the meaning of these two verses?
- In what area of your life do you most need to believe that God’s word will not return empty? How can this group support you in that?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 32:2 | My doctrine will drop as the rain. My speech will condense as the dew, as the misty rain on the tender grass, as the showers on the herb. |
| I Samuel 23:4 | Then David inquired of Yahweh yet again. Yahweh answered him, and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” |
| Psalms 65:9 | You visit the earth, and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it. |
| Psalms 65:13 | The pastures are covered with flocks. The valleys also are clothed with grain. They shout for joy! They also sing. |
| Psalms 72:6 | He will come down like rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth. |
| Psalms 72:7 | In his days, the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. |
| Isaiah 5:6 | I will lay it a wasteland. It won’t be pruned or hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.” |
| Isaiah 30:23 | He will give the rain for your seed, with which you will sow the ground; and bread of the increase of the ground will be rich and plentiful. In that day, your livestock will feed in large pastures. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes argues that God's word always accomplishes its intended purpose, just as rain and snow never fall without making the earth fruitful. Even when the gospel appears to be preached in vain on hard or barren hearts, it never returns to God empty. God has a design in every case, and the word will ultimately succeed.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible draws attention to the word of salvation as something God actively sends, endowed with a self-fulfilling energy. Its silent but irresistible power is compared to rain that always waters the earth and never returns empty. The point is that God’s word cannot fail to achieve what He intends.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill reads the rain-and-snow image as a threefold picture. He says it illustrates Christ the eternal Word, God's promises, and especially the Gospel itself. All three come from heaven, accomplish exactly what God intends, and never return empty or fruitless.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB points out that God's word, like rain on a desert, never returns without fulfilling its purpose. Even when it falls on hard hearts, it either eventually produces change or leaves them without excuse. The full fulfillment awaits Israel's final restoration and the world's conversion.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch stress that God's word is not a mere sound or letter but a living messenger. Like rain and snow, it returns to God only after accomplishing His purpose, softening the heart and providing seed for the prophet and bread for the soul. This return itself proves the word's divine nature.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees in this chapter a radical shift in how salvation is received: no longer through performing works but through believing acceptance. The invitation to buy without money points to a spiritual transaction. What was once conditional on obeying the law is now offered freely through faith in the promised Messiah.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry treats these verses as a universal covenant open to every person, not limited to Jews, Old Testament believers, or Babylonian exiles. He stresses that both the call to seek God and the promise of abundant pardon are offered to all who long for true happiness.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley draws a sharp parallel: just as snow and rain cause the earth to produce bread for both eating and sowing, so God's word of promise concerning the pardon of the worst sinners never returns empty. His point is that the divine pledge to forgive the greatest offenders is as certain to succeed as the natural cycle is to bear fruit.