Isaiah 40
1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry to her, that her warfare has been completed, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
The voice of a man crying out in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. And the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places smooth.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.
And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. For the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.
6 A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness of it is as the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of Jehovah blows upon it. Surely the people is grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever.
9 Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
O thou who tell good news to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain. O thou who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up, be not afraid, say to the cities of Judah, Behold, your God!
10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.
Behold, the lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those who have their young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor?
Who has known the mind of Jehovah, or being his counselor has taught him?
14 Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding?
With whom did he take counsel. And who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice. And taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance. Behold, he takes up the isles as a very little thing.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts of it sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
All the nations are as nothing before him. They are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
18 To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?
To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare to him?
19 To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?
The image, a workman has cast it, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains.
20 To one bereft of an offering who chooses wood that will not rot, who seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple?
He who is too impoverished for such an oblation chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks for him a skilful workman to set up a graven image that shall not be moved.
21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?
Have ye not known? Have yet not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in,
23 He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.
who brings rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth as vanity.
24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.
Yea, they have not been planted. Yea, they have not been sown. Yea, their stock has not taken root in the earth. Moreover he blows upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.
25 “To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their host by number. He calls them all by name, by the greatness of his might. And because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”?
Why do thou say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah. And the justice due to me is passed away from my God?
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.
Have thou not known? Have thou not heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, nor is weary. There is no searching of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
He gives power to the faint. And to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.
31 But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
But those who wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run, and not be weary. They shall walk, and not faint.
