Isaiah 57:14 is a call to clear the way for God’s people. The verse pictures a road being built up and every obstacle being removed, so that the people can return to the Lord without anything blocking their path. It is spoken within a prophecy from Isaiah, the prophet of Judah in the eighth century BC, and it is addressed to a people who had wandered into idolatry and self-reliance and needed a way back home.
He will say, “Build up, build up, prepare the way! Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.”
Isaiah 57:14 (WEB)
What Isaiah 57:14 Means
The verse opens with a repeated command: “build up, build up, prepare the way.” In the ancient Near East, a king traveling through rough country sometimes had workers level ground, fill in low spots and widen paths before his arrival. Isaiah borrows that image. The people are to make the road ready because someone important is coming to them, and the repetition gives the command urgency.
The second half speaks of removing a “stumbling-block.” This word refers to anything that causes someone to trip or fall, whether a rock in the path or something that leads a person into sin. Isaiah’s point is that the people themselves have set up obstacles between themselves and God, and those obstacles must be cleared away before they can walk freely toward Him.
What the verse does not do is promise that the road will be easy once cleared. It describes preparation and the removal of barriers, not a guarantee of comfort or of a trouble-free journey. It is a summons to turn back, and the verses that follow give the reason the turning is possible.
The Context of Isaiah 57:14
The book of Isaiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet Isaiah, who ministered in Jerusalem during the reigns of several kings of Judah. Chapters 56 to 66 are often grouped together and address a community that had returned to, or was living under, difficult conditions and was tempted toward false worship and self-protection. The audience is the covenant people who had turned to other gods and trusted in their own schemes.
The verses just before this one (57:11 to 13) rebuke the people for forgetting God and fearing human powers instead, and they promise that those who take refuge in the Lord will inherit His holy mountain. Verse 14 follows as the practical step: the way is to be prepared. The verses after it (57:15 to 17) reveal God as the high and holy One who dwells with the contrite and humble, and who will not contend forever. Read in that setting, the road-building command is an act of hope rather than a demand for self-improvement, because the Lord has already declared that He lives with the humble.
Key Phrases in Isaiah 57:14
Isaiah 40:3
The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God.
(WEB)
This verse, from the opening of Isaiah’s message of comfort, speaks of preparing a way in the wilderness for the Lord. It shows the same road-building imagery at the start of the book and helps readers see how the call to prepare runs through Isaiah’s whole message of return and restoration.
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
(WEB)
This verse shows that God values a broken and contrite heart. It fits closely with Isaiah 57:15, the verse right after 57:14, where God dwells with the humble and contrite. Together they show that the road back to God is paved with humility rather than outward display.
A Short Prayer From Isaiah 57:14
Lord, you see the things I have set up between myself and you, the fears I hold, the grudges I refuse to set down, and the habits that pull me away from your presence. Help me to be honest about what is in the way. Give me the courage to take the first step in clearing it, and let me trust that you are the one who dwells with those who are humble and contrite. Make a straight path in my heart so that I may walk toward you without stumbling. Amen.
