Isaiah 40
1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith 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 [comfort] to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out unto her, that her time of sorrow is accomplished, that her iniquity is atoned for; for she hath received from the hand of the Lord 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.
A voice calleth out, In the wilderness make ye clear the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for 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 raised, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made a straight path, and the rough places a plain:
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed; and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath 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.
A voice saith, Proclaim; and he saith, What shall I proclaim? all flesh is grass, and all its goodliness 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 withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the Lord hath blown 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 withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God will stand firm for ever.
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!”
Upon a high mountain get thee up, thou that bringest good tidings to Zion; lift up with strength thy voice, thou who bringest good tidings to Jerusalem; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, [here is] 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 Eternal will come with might, and his arm ruleth 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.
Like a shepherd will he feed his flock: with his arm will he gather the lambs, and in his bosom will he carry them, will he lead gently those that suckle 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 hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters, and meted out the heavens with the span, and comprised in a measure the dust of the earth, and weighed in the scale-beam the mountains, and the hills in balances?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor?
Who hath meted out the Spirit of the Lord? and [who was] his counsellor that he could have given him information?
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 took he counsel, that he gave him understanding, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and caused him to know 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, nations are as a drop out of a bucket, and as the small dust of the balance are they accounted: behold, isles are like the flying dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.
And Lebanon is not sufficient for burning, and its beasts do not suffice for burnt-offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
All the nations are as naught before him; less than nothing, and vanity are they accounted to him.
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 unto him?
19 To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?
The graven image the artificer hath cast and the goldsmith hath overspread it with gold, and fabricated [on 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 that is skilled in the choice chooseth a wood that will not rot; he seeketh unto himself a skilful workman to prepare 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?
Know ye not? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not paid attention to 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] that dwelleth above the circle of the earth, while its inhabitants are as grasshoppers; that stretched out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
23 He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.
That bringeth princes to naught; rendering 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.
Yes, they were not yet planted; yea, they were not yet sown; yea, their stem had not yet taken root in the earth: when he but breathed upon them, and they withered, and the storm-wind carrieth 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? saith 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 hath created these? he that bringeth out their host by number; that calleth them all by name; from the Mighty One not one escapeth.
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 wilt thou say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, and my cause hath passed from the cognizance of 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.
Dost thou not know? hast thou not heard? The God of everlasting is the Lord, is the Creator of the ends of the earth; he will not be faint and weary; unsearchable is his understanding.
29 He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
He giveth to the faint strength; and to the powerless he imparteth much might.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
Though youths should grow faint and be weary, and young men should utterly stumble:
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.
Yet they that wait upon the Lord shall acquire new strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk, and not become faint.
