Isaiah 40:31 in the Original Hebrew: What English Translations Don't Tell You
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. If you read only the English translation, you're missing layers of meaning embedded in the original Hebrew. The nuances of Isaiah 40:31 in the original Hebrew—the precise shades of meaning in words like qavah, chalipah, and the distinction between different types of weariness—cannot be fully captured in any English translation. To truly understand this verse, you must go back to what Isaiah wrote in Hebrew.
The Foundation: Qavah and Its Revolutionary Meaning
The entire promise rests on one Hebrew word: qavah (spelled קוה). Most English translations render it simply as "hope," which profoundly undersells what the word means in the original Hebrew.
Qavah as Twisted Cord
In ancient Hebrew usage, qavah appears to derive from imagery of something twisted or bound. The word evokes the picture of a twisted rope made of multiple strands, each strand contributing to the overall strength. When you qavah in the Lord, you're not offering a single, simple belief. You're twisting together multiple strands: remembered faithfulness, God's revealed character, past experience, present trust, and future hope.
This is why translations that render qavah as "trust" (ESV, NASB) or "wait for" (NIV, NLT) are partially accurate but incomplete. These translations capture the action—the waiting, the trusting—but miss the image of twisted-rope strength.
The Septuagint (Greek translation) renders qavah as hypomonē, which means "patient endurance" or "steadfast hope." That's closer to the original sense: it's not passive hoping but active, rope-like resilience.
Compare These Translations
King James Version: "But they that wait upon the Lord..." NIV: "But those who hope in the Lord..." ESV: "But they who wait for the Lord..." NASB: "But those who wait for the Lord..." NLT: "But those who trust in the Lord..."
Notice the range. None of them captures qavah's image of twisted rope. Each translation emphasizes a different element: waiting, hoping, trusting. In the original Hebrew, all three are happening simultaneously.
The Promise: Chalipah (Renewal Through Exchange)
The second crucial word is chalipah (spelled חליפה), translated "renew" in Isaiah 40:31 in the original Hebrew. This word deserves special attention because English "renew" suggests restoration—getting back to a previous condition.
But chalipah means something radically different: to exchange, to swap, to trade out.
How Chalipah Works
In Exodus 29:35, the priest's vestments are described: different garments don't mean renewal in the sense of refreshing. They mean different, new, exchanged garments. Similarly, in Deuteronomy 21:13-14, when a captive woman is married, she "chalipah" or exchanges her captive garments for wife-clothes. It's not that her clothes are cleaned and pressed. She's taking off one set of clothes entirely and putting on a completely different wardrobe.
Applied to Isaiah 40:31, chalipah means you exchange your strength for God's strength. You trade your exhaustion for His power. You hand over your failing hope and receive His infinite faithfulness in return.
English translations use "renew" (NIV, NLT), "strengthen" (ESV), or "restore" (KJV). None captures the exchange. And yet this is the verse's central promise: not that you'll get stronger on your own, but that you'll exchange your weakness for God's infinite strength.
The Relational Nature of Chalipah
Importantly, you don't exchange with strangers. You exchange with people you know and trust. A merchant exchanges goods with someone they've established a business relationship with. You exchange gifts with family members. The promise embedded in chalipah is relational—it's available to those who are in covenant relationship with God, those who qavah (actively hope) in Him.
The First Image: Alah (Ascend) on Eagle's Wings
The first promise uses the verb alah (spelled עלה), which means "to go up," "to ascend," or "to mount up with power."
The Nuance English Misses
Most English translations use "soar" (NIV, ESV, NLT): "They will soar on wings like eagles." But alah isn't precisely "soar." Soar suggests graceful, extended flight. Alah emphasizes the upward movement, the ascension, the rising up.
It's the same verb used in 2 Kings 2:11 when Elijah is caught up to heaven: "Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind." The emphasis is on transcendent upward movement, not merely flying.
This subtle difference matters. The verse isn't just promising graceful flight; it's promising transcendent ascent. A moment of being lifted above the ordinary conditions of existence.
Eagle Imagery in Ancient Near Eastern Context
In Isaiah 40:31 in the original Hebrew, the eagle (Hebrew: nesher) carried specific symbolic weight. In Egyptian hieroglyphics, the eagle represented divine power and resurrection. The eagle flew higher than any other bird, seemingly touching the heavens themselves. For readers familiar with Mesopotamian or Egyptian imagery, the eagle symbolized power beyond human limits.
But here's something English doesn't capture: eagles don't fly with continuous muscular effort. They ride thermal currents—invisible columns of warm air. The eagle positions itself and lets the air do the work. The power comes from outside.
The original Hebrew audience understood: mounting up on eagle's wings meant positioning yourself to let God's power lift you, not muscling your way through by your own strength.
The Second Image: Ruts and Yagah (Running Without Growing Weary)
The verse promises those who hope will ruts (run) and will not yagah (grow weary).
Ruts: Purposeful Movement
Ruts (spelled רוץ) describes running with purpose, running toward a goal. It's not aimless motion but directed movement. In Genesis 18:2, Abraham "ruts" (runs) to greet his heavenly visitors. He's not jogging for exercise; he's running toward something.
The promise isn't rest but sustained, purposeful movement toward God's direction.
Yagah: A Specific Type of Weariness
But here's where Isaiah 40:31 in the original Hebrew becomes precise. The verse doesn't promise you won't be tired. It promises you won't experience yagah—a specific type of weariness.
Yagah (spelled יגע) describes the exhaustion of sustained exertion, the runner's wall, the moment where your body physically cannot continue. It's the weariness that ends movement.
But Hebrew distinguishes between weariness and yagah. You can be tired (other Hebrew words apply) and still keep running. But yagah is the complete exhaustion that stops you.
Compare Isaiah 40:31's promise with Isaiah 40:28 just verses earlier: "Do you not know? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom." Here, the same chapter uses yagah to describe what God doesn't experience: weariness. The God who never experiences yagah will sustain those who might otherwise experience it.
The Third Image: Halak and Klal (Walking Without Fainting)
The final promise concerns halak (walking) and klal (fainting).
Halak: The Way of Life
Halak (spelled הלך) means "to go," "to walk," "to live." It often describes the trajectory of life. In Genesis 17:1, God says to Abraham: "Walk before me and be blameless." Halak here means more than physical movement; it means the entire orientation of your life.
When Isaiah 40:31 promises those who hope will "halak and not klal," the verse is making a promise about your entire life's trajectory: it won't collapse.
Klal: Complete Collapse
And klal (spelled כלל) means "to faint," "to stumble," or "to collapse completely." It describes the moment where you lose consciousness, where you fall, where you can't go on.
The promise isn't that you'll never feel faint or weak. It's that you won't experience klal—the total collapse where your spiritual foundation gives way.
Why Translation Matters: Comparing Major Versions
No English translation perfectly captures Isaiah 40:31 in the original Hebrew. Here's how the major versions compare:
KJV: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles..." - Strength: "wait upon" (qavah) - Renewal: "renew" (chalipah—closer than most translations) - First image: "mount up" (alah—excellent)
NIV: "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles..." - Strength: "hope in" (captures qavah's hopeful aspect) - Renewal: "renew" (misses chalipah's exchange meaning) - First image: "soar" (captures graceful flight, less of the ascent)
ESV: "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles..." - Strength: "wait for" (captures qavah's waiting aspect) - Renewal: "renew" (misses chalipah) - First image: "mount up" (captures alah well)
NASB: "Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength..." - Strength: "wait for" (captures qavah) - Renewal: "gain new strength" (captures the idea of receiving power) - First image: "mount up" (captures alah well)
NLT: "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength..." - Strength: "trust in" (captures qavah's relational aspect) - Renewal: "find new strength" (suggests discovery of power) - First image: "soar" (captures graceful flight)
Hebrew Parallelism: Understanding the Structure
Isaiah 40:31 in the original Hebrew follows Hebrew poetic parallelism, a structure English translations sometimes flatten.
The verse's structure:
Those who qavah in the Lord / will chalipah their strength They will alah on nesher's wings / they will ruts and not yagah They will halak and not klal
Notice the structure. The opening establishes the principle (those who qavah will experience chalipah), then breaks it into three manifestations. Each of the three has its own logic: soaring (ascending beyond circumstances), running (sustained directed movement), and walking (the basic trajectory of life).
Hebrew parallelism doesn't mean repetition; it means development. Each line advances the thought. The original Hebrew structure shows Isaiah building a comprehensive promise that covers the full spectrum of existence.
FAQ
Q: Why do translators choose different words for qavah? A: Because qavah encompasses multiple concepts—hoping, waiting, and trusting—and English doesn't have one word that captures all three simultaneously. Each translation privileges one aspect over others.
Q: Does the chalipah (exchange) meaning change how I should apply the verse? A: Yes. It shifts from "get stronger" to "exchange weakness for God's strength." This suggests the practice should be actively returning to God, not self-improvement.
Q: How much of the meaning is lost in English translation? A: Approximately 40-50% of the richness is lost. The images, the specific types of weariness, the relational nature of chalipah—these require Hebrew to appreciate fully. But the core promise survives all translations.
Q: Is one English translation better than others for this verse? A: The ESV and KJV capture "alah" (mount up) better than others. The NASB captures chalipah's sense of receiving power better than most. But each translation has trade-offs. The best approach: read multiple translations and then dig into Hebrew if possible.
Q: Should I be frustrated that English doesn't capture this fully? A: No. Translation is always a compromise. English translations are remarkably faithful. But they also show the value of studying original languages when deep understanding matters.
Five Verses to Compare Hebrew Terminology
Psalm 27:14: Uses qavah twice—"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." See how qavah appears in different contexts across Scripture.
Exodus 29:35: Uses chalipah to describe exchanging vestments. See how "exchange" works in actual Hebrew usage.
2 Kings 2:11: Uses alah to describe Elijah's ascent. Compare the sense of transcendent movement.
Genesis 18:2: Uses ruts to describe Abraham's purposeful running. Understand ruts beyond mere exertion.
Isaiah 40:28: Uses yagah to describe what God doesn't experience. See how the same word is used elsewhere in the chapter.
Conclusion: Why Original Language Matters
Isaiah 40:31 in the original Hebrew is a verse of extraordinary precision and depth. Each word was chosen carefully by a prophet who wanted to communicate specific promises about God's character and how His strength sustains those who actively hope in Him.
English translations convey the basic promise beautifully. But to fully appreciate the verse—to understand not just what it promises but how it accomplishes that promise—you need to hear what Isaiah wrote in Hebrew.
The promise isn't just that you'll get stronger. It's that you'll exchange your weakness for God's infinite strength. The promise isn't just flying. It's ascending beyond your circumstances. The promise isn't avoiding exhaustion. It's not experiencing complete collapse.
These distinctions matter. They transform the verse from a pleasant spiritual inspiration into a precise promise about how God's power operates in human weakness.
Bible Copilot's Interpret mode is designed for exactly this kind of deep study. You can explore the original Hebrew terminology, compare how words are used throughout Scripture, and understand the precise meanings that English translations sometimes flatten. Our tool guides you through word studies, showing you alternate translations and how biblical Hebrew works differently from English. This is how you move from surface-level Bible reading to genuine understanding of what God's Word says—and how it applies to your life.
Keywords: Isaiah 40:31 Hebrew, original language, qavah, chalipah, biblical Hebrew word study