Isaiah 40
1 Hloep uh pai, ka pilnam he hloep uh pai. Na Pathen loh,
Our God says, “Encourage my people! Encourage them!
2 Jerusalem te a lungbuei ah thui pah lamtah amah taengah hoe pah. Amah kathaesainah moeithen pah ham a caempuei khaw cung coeng. A tholhnah cungkuem ham te rhaepnit la BOEIPA kut a yook.
Speak kindly to [the people of] Jerusalem; tell them that their suffering is ended, and that I have forgiven them for the sins that they have committed; I [SYN] have fully punished them for their sins.”
3 Khosoek kah pang ol dongah BOEIPA kah longpuei rhoekbah uh. Mamih Pathen ham longpuei te kolken duela dueng sakuh.
I hear someone who is shouting, “Prepare in the desert a way for Yahweh to come [to you]; make a smooth road for our God (OR, Prepare yourselves to receive Yahweh when he comes, like people make a straight road for an important official [MET]).
4 Kolrhawk khaw boeih nolh saeh lamtah tlang som boeih khaw kunyun sak uh laeh. Cangngok te tlangtlae la, ngoemngak te khaw kolbawn la om saeh.
Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and every mountain. Make the uneven ground smooth, and make the rough places smooth.
5 BOEIPA kah a ka loh a thui coeng dongah BOEIPA kah thangpomnah te phoe vetih pumsa ah thikat la boeih a hmuh uh ni.
[If you do that], it will become known that Yahweh is glorious/great, and all people will realize it at the same time. [Those things will surely happen] because it is Yahweh who has said [MTY] it.”
6 Ol long tah pang dae a ti tih a thui coeng. Balae ka pang thil eh? Pumsa boeih he sulrham banghui ni, pumsa kah sitlohnah boeih khaw lohma kah tamlaep pai banghui mai ni.
Someone said to me, “Shout!” I replied, “What should I shout?” [He replied], “[Shout that] people are like [SIM] grass; their influence fades as quickly as flowers in the field.
7 Sulrham khaw rhae tih tamlaep pai tloih. Pilnam khaw BOEIPA kah a hil loh sulrham bangla a yawn taktak.
Grass withers and flowers dry up when Yahweh causes a hot wind from the desert to blow on them. And people are [MET] like that.
8 Sulrham he rhae tih rhaipai loh rhul mai cakhaw mamih Pathen kah olka tah kumhal duela pai.
The grass withers and the flowers dry up, but what our God promises will last forever.”
9 Zion ham aka phong loh na tlang sang la luei lah. Jerusalem ham aka phong khaw na thadueng ol neh pomsang lah. Rhih boeh pomsang laeh. Judah khopuei rhoek taengah, “Nangmih kah Pathen la he,” ti nah.
You [people of] Jerusalem, you have good news to tell to people, so, shout it from the top of a high mountain! Shout it loudly, and do not be afraid! Tell the people in the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming here!”
10 Ka Boeipa Yahovah tah a tlungluen neh ha pawk tih a bantha loh anih ham a taemrhai pah coeng ke. A thapang khaw amah taengah, a thaphu khaw a mikhmuh ah om coeng ke.
Yahweh your God will be coming with power; he will rule powerfully [MTY]. And when he comes, he will bring with him the people whom he has freed [MET] [from being slaves in Babylonia].
11 Amah kah tuping aka dawn bangla a ban neh a luem sak. Tuca rhoek te a coi tih a rhang dongah a poem. Cacun khaw a khool bal.
He will take care of his people like [SIM] a shepherd takes care of his sheep, and carries the young lambs in his arms. He carries them close to his chest and he gently leads the female sheep that are nursing their young lambs.
12 A kutpha dongah tui aka loeng, vaan te khap at la aka khap tih diklai laipi khaw baelpuei dongah aka hluem, tlang neh som boeih khaw cooi dongah coilung pakhat neh aka thuek te unim?
[There is no one like Yahweh]! (Who else has measured the water in the oceans in the palm of his hand?/No one else has measured the water in the oceans in the palm of his hand!) [RHQ] (Who else has measured the sky with his fingers?/No one else has measured the sky with his fingers!) [RHQ] (Who else knows how much the earth weighs?/No one else knows how much the earth weighs!) [RHQ] (Who else has weighed the mountains and hills on scales?/No one else has weighed the mountains and hills on scales!) [RHQ]
13 BOEIPA kah mueihla aka noem tih a cilsuep neh anih aka ming sak hlang te unim?
And (who else can advise Yahweh’s Spirit?/No one else can advise Yahweh’s Spirit!) [RHQ] (Who can teach him or advise/tell him what he should do?/No one can teach him or advise/tell him what he should do!) [RHQ]
14 Anih aka uen tih aka yakming sak khaw, tiktamnah caehlong neh anih aka cang tih mingnah longpuei neh aka cang, anih te lungcuei aka ming sak te unim te?
(Has Yahweh consulted anyone else to get advice?/Yahweh has certainly not consulted anyone else to get advice!) [RHQ] (Does he need someone to tell him what is right to do and how to act justly?/He certainly does not need someone to tell him what is right to do and how to act justly!) [RHQ]
15 Namtom rhoek khaw tuiduen dongkah tuicip bangla, cooi dongkah khomong bangla a ngai uh ke ni. Sanglak boeih khaw khonuei bangla a yaal.
[Yahweh considers that] the nations are [as insignificant as] [MET] one drop from a bucket [full of water]. They are [as insignificant as] dust on scales. He is able to weigh islands [as though they weighed no more than] grains of sand.
16 Lebanon pataeng toih rhoeh pawt tih a mulhing hmueihhlutnah la rhoeh pawh.
There would be [not] enough wood from all the trees in Lebanon to make a suitable fire for [sacrificing animals to] him, and there are not enough animals in Lebanon to offer as sacrifices to him.
17 Namtom boeih khaw amah hmaikah pawt bangla a poei-oep lakah khaw amah rhangneh hinghong la ngai uh.
The nations of the world are completely insignificant/unimportant to him; he considers that they are worthless and less than nothing [HYP, DOU].
18 Te dongah Pathen te u taengah nim na lutlat sak vetih amah te mebang nen nim phek na tluk sak uh eh?
So, to whom can you compare God? What image resembles him?
19 Mueithuk te kutthai loh a hloe tih sui aka dung loh sui neh a nulh thil. Cak rhui nen khaw a cam.
Can you compare him to an idol that is made in a mold, and then is covered with [a thin sheet of] gold and decorated with silver chains?
20 Tangkik tanglai loh khocang la thing aka keet pawt te a coelh. Aka tuen pawh mueithuk aka saek ham te kutthai hlangcueih a tlap.
A man who is poor [cannot buy silver or gold for his idol]; [so] he selects a piece of wood that will not rot, and he gives it to a craftsman to carve an idol that will not fall down!
21 Na ming uh pawt nim? Na ya uh pawt nim? A lu lamloh nangmih taengah thui pawt nim? Diklai kah a yung na yakming uh pawt nim?
Have you(pl) not heard this? Do you not understand it? Are you unable to hear what God said long ago— [messages that he gave] before he created the earth?
22 Diklai kueluek soah aka ngol tih tangku bangla kho aka sa, vaan te tihil bangla aka cuet, khosa ham dap bangla aka yaai pah la om.
God sits [on his throne] above the earth, and the people [on the earth] below seem to be [as small] as [SIM] grasshoppers. He spreads out the sky like a curtain; it is like [SIM] a tent for him to live in.
23 Boeica rhoek te a hong taengla aka pae neh diklai kah laitloek rhoek te hinghong la a khueh.
He causes kings to have no more power, and he causes the rulers to be worth nothing.
24 A phung uh pawt tih a soem uh pawt hmanah a ngo khaw diklai ah saicin bal pawh. Te dongah amih te phawn a hmuh vaengah tah koh pahoi tih hlipuei loh divawt bangla a khuen.
They start to rule, like small plants start to grow and form roots; but then [he gets rid of them] as though [MET] they withered when he blew on them, like [SIM] chaff that is blown away by the wind.
25 Te dongah kai naka puet tihA Cim neh ka vanat aka ti te unim?
The Holy One asks, “To whom will you compare me? Is anyone equal to me?”
26 Na mik te a sang la dangrhoek lamtah so uh lah. He he aka suen khaw unim? A caempuei a tarhing ah a thoeng sak tih amih te a ming neh boeih a khue. A thahuem khaw cang kahlak tih thadueng neh a om rhapsat coeng dongah hlang pakhat pataeng a hmaai moenih.
Look up toward the sky: Consider who [RHQ] created all the stars. [Yahweh created them], and at night he causes them to appear; he calls each one by its name. Because he is extremely powerful [DOU], all of the stars are there [LIT] [when he calls out their names].
27 Balae tih Jakob nang na cal. Israel sawt long khaw, “Ka longpuei he BOEIPA taeng lamloh thuh uh coeng, ka tiktamnah he ka Pathen loh a poe coeng,” na ti rhailai.
You people of Israel [DOU], why do you complain that Yahweh does not see the [troubles that you are experiencing]? Why do you say that he does not act fairly toward you?
28 Na ming het pawt nim? Khosuen Pathen Yahovah na ya noek pawt nim? Diklai bawt aka suen te tawnba pawt tih a kohnue moenih. A lungcuei te khenah om mahpawh.
Have you never heard and have you never understood that Yahweh is the everlasting God; he is the one who created the earth, [even the] most distant places on the earth. He never becomes weak or weary, and no one can find out how much he understands.
29 Lamlum te thadueng a paek tih thahuem aka khueh pawt te thaomnah a rhoeng sak.
He strengthens [DOU] those who feel weak and tired.
30 Camoe rhoek te tawnba uh tih kohnue uh. Tongpang rhoek khaw a paloe lam ni a paloe uh.
Even youths become faint and weary, and young men will fall when they are exhausted.
31 Tedae BOEIPA aka lamtawn rhoek tah a thadueng sai vetihatha bangla a phae neh luei ni. Yong uh cakhaw kohnue uh mahpawh. Cet thikthuek cakhaw tawnba uh mahpawh,” a ti.
But those who trust in Yahweh will become strong again; [it will be as though] they will soar/fly high like [SIM] eagles do. They will run [for a long time] and not become weary; they will walk [long distances] and not faint.
