Isaiah 40:28–31 — They Shall Mount Up With Wings as Eagles

Why families choose it

Often chosen after a long illness, or by a family worn thin with caring, because it speaks first to the tiredness of the living. It concedes what everyone in the room has learned — ‘even the youths shall faint’ — then makes its promise in descending order: mount up, run, walk. That it ends at walking is its mercy; it promises strength for the next ordinary day, not only for flight. The eagle line is the famous one, but the last clause is the gift.

Reading it aloud

It opens with two questions — ‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard’ — and they should sound like questions, gently pressed, not thundered. Then let the long final sentence build: wings, running, walking, each phrase given its own breath. Resist making the eagle soar in your voice; the passage descends on purpose, and it lands on ‘walk, and not faint’ — so land there too, quiet and level and certain.

In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Scripture Reading — Isaiah 40:28–31” with the reader’s name beside it. The full text is public domain and may be printed on the life-story or back page.