Isaiah 40

1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.

“Comfort, comfort 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 to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her, That her warfare has been completed, That her punishment has been accepted, That she has received from the hand of YHWH 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 is crying in a wilderness: “Prepare the way of YHWH, Make straight in a 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 is raised up, And every mountain and hill become low, And the crooked place has become a plain, And the entangled places a valley.

5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.

And the glory of YHWH has been revealed, And all flesh have seen [it] together, For the mouth of YHWH has spoken.”

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 is saying, “Call,” And he said, “What do I call?” All flesh [is] grass, and all its goodness [Is] as a 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.

Grass has withered, the flower faded, For the Spirit of YHWH blew on it, Surely the people [is] grass;

8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Grass has withered, the flower faded, But a word of our God rises 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!”

Get up on a high mountain, O Zion, Proclaiming tidings, Lift up your voice with power, O Jerusalem, proclaiming tidings, Lift up, do not fear, say to 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, Lord YHWH comes with strength, And His arm is ruling for Him, Behold, His hire [is] with Him, and His wage 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 feeds His flock as a shepherd, He gathers lambs with His arm, And He carries [them] in His bosom: He leads suckling ones.

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 has meted out the heavens by a span, And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, And has 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 meted out the Spirit of YHWH, And [being] His counselor, teaches 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 consult, That he causes Him to understand? And teaches Him in the path of judgment, And teaches Him knowledge? And causes 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 from a bucket, And have been reckoned as small dust of the balance, Behold, He takes up islands as a small thing.

16 Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.

And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts 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, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him.

18 To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?

And to whom do you liken God, And what likeness do you compare to Him?

19 To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

An artisan has poured out the carved image, And a refiner spreads it over with gold, And he is refining chains of silver.

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 poor [by] raised-offerings, Chooses a tree [that is] not rotten, He seeks a skillful artisan for it, To establish a carved image—not 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?

Do you not know—do you not hear? Has it not been declared from the first to you? Have you 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.

He who is sitting on the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants [are] as grasshoppers, He who is stretching out the heavens as a thin thing, And spreads them as a tent to dwell in.

23 He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.

He who is making princes become nothing, Has made judges of earth formless;

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.

Indeed, they have not been planted, Indeed, they have not been sown, Indeed, their stock is not taking root in the earth, And He has also blown on them, and they wither, And a whirlwind takes them away as stubble.

25 “To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

And to whom do you liken Me, And [to whom] I equal? 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? He who is bringing out their host by number, He calls to all of them by name, By the abundance of His strength And mighty 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 say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way has been hid from YHWH, And from my God my judgment passes over?”

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 you not known? Have you not heard? The God of the age—YHWH, Preparer of the ends of the earth, Is not wearied nor fatigued, There is no searching of His understanding.

29 He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.

He is giving power to the weary, And to those not strong He increases might.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.

Even youths are wearied and fatigued, And young men 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.

But those expecting YHWH pass [to] power, They raise up the pinion as eagles, They run and are not fatigued, They go on and do not faint!