Isaiah 40
1 Give comfort, give comfort, to my people, says your God.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, will your God say.
2 Say kind words to the heart of Jerusalem, crying out to her that her time of trouble is ended, that her punishment is complete; that she has been rewarded by the Lord's hand twice over for all her sins.
Speake comfortably to Ierusalem, and crye vnto her, that her warrefare is accomplished, that her iniquitie is pardoned: for she hath receiued of the Lords hand double for all her sinnes.
3 A voice of one crying, Make ready in the waste land the way of the Lord, make level in the lowland a highway for our God.
A voyce cryeth in the wildernesse, Prepare ye the way of the Lord: make streight in the desert a path for our God.
4 Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough places become level, and the hilltops become a valley,
Euery valley shall be exalted, and euery mountaine and hill shall be made lowe: and the crooked shalbe streight, and the rough places plaine.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be made clear, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has said it.
And the glory of the Lord shalbe reueiled, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
6 A voice of one saying, Give a cry! And I said, What is my cry to be? All flesh is grass, and all its strength like the flower of the field.
A voyce saide, Crie. And he saide, What shall I crie? All flesh is grasse, and all the grace thereof is as the floure of the fielde.
7 The grass becomes dry, the flower is dead; because the breath of the Lord goes over it: truly the people is grass.
The grasse withereth, the floure fadeth, because the Spirite of the Lord bloweth vpon it: surely the people is grasse.
8 The grass is dry, the flower is dead; but the word of our God is eternal.
The grasse withereth, the floure fadeth: but the worde of our God shall stand for euer.
9 You who give good news to Zion, get up into the high mountain; you who give good news to Jerusalem, let your voice be strong; let it be sounding without fear; say to the towns of Judah, See, your God!
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee vp into the hie mountaine: O Ierusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift vp thy voyce with strength: lift it vp, be not afraide: say vnto the cities of Iudah, Beholde your God.
10 See, the Lord God will come as a strong one, ruling in power: see, those made free by him are with him, and those whom he has made safe go before him.
Beholde, the Lord God will come with power, and his arme shall rule for him: beholde, his rewarde is with him, and his worke before him,
11 He will give food to his flock like a keeper of sheep; with his arm he will get it together, and will take up the lambs on his breast, gently guiding those which are with young.
He shall feede his flocke like a shepheard: he shall gather the lambes with his arme, and cary them in his bosome, and shall guide them with young.
12 In the hollow of whose hand have the waters been measured? and who is able to take the heavens in his stretched-out fingers? who has got together the dust of the earth in a measure? who has taken the weight of the mountains, or put the hills into the scales?
Who hath measured the waters in his fist? and counted heauen with the spanne, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure? and weighed ye mountaines in a weight, and the hilles in a balance?
13 By whom has the spirit of the Lord been guided, or who has been his teacher?
Who hath instructed ye Spirit of the Lord? or was his counseler or taught him?
14 Who gave him suggestions, and made clear to him the right way? who gave him knowledge, guiding him in the way of wisdom?
Of whom tooke he counsell, and who instructed him and taught him in the way of iudgement? or taught him knowledge, and shewed vnto him the way of vnderstanding?
15 See, the nations are to him like a drop hanging from a bucket, and like the small dust in the scales: he takes up the islands like small dust.
Beholde, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the dust of the balance: beholde, he taketh away the yles as a litle dust.
16 And Lebanon is not enough to make a fire with, or all its cattle enough for a burned offering.
And Lebanon is not sufficient for fire, nor the beastes thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him; even less than nothing, a thing of no value.
All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him, lesse then nothing, and vanitie.
18 Whom then is God like, in your opinion? or what will you put forward as a comparison with him?
To whom then wil ye liken God? or what similitude will ye set vp vnto him?
19 The workman makes an image, and the gold-worker puts gold plates over it, and makes silver bands for it.
The workeman melteth an image, or the goldsmith beateth it out in golde, or the goldesmith maketh siluer plates.
20 The wise workman makes selection of the mulberry-tree of the offering, a wood which will not become soft; so that the image may be fixed to it and not be moved.
Doeth not the poore chuse out a tree that will not rot, for an oblation? he seeketh also vnto him a cunning workeman, to prepare an image, that shall not be moued.
21 Have you no knowledge of it? has it not come to your ears? has not news of it been given to you from the first? has it not been clear to you from the time when the earth was placed on its base?
Know ye nothing? haue ye not heard it? hath it not bene tolde you from the beginning? haue ye not vnderstand it by the foundation of the earth?
22 It is he who is seated over the arch of the earth, and the people in it are as small as locusts; by him the heavens are stretched out like an arch, and made ready like a tent for a living-place.
He sitteth vpon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grashoppers, hee stretcheth out ye heauens, as a curtaine, and spreadeth them out, as a tent to dwell in.
23 He makes rulers come to nothing; the judges of the earth are of no value.
He bringeth the princes to nothing, and maketh the iudges of the earth, as vanitie,
24 They have only now been planted, and their seed put into the earth, and they have only now taken root, when he sends out his breath over them and they become dry, and the storm-wind takes them away like dry grass.
As though they were not plated, as though they were not sowen, as though their stocke tooke no roote in the earth: for he did euen blow vpon them, and they withered, and the whirlewinde will take them away as stubble.
25 Who then seems to you to be my equal? says the Holy One.
To whom nowe will ye liken me, that I should be like him, saith the Holy one?
26 Let your eyes be lifted up on high, and see: who has made these? He who sends out their numbered army: who has knowledge of all their names: by whose great strength, because he is strong in power, all of them are in their places.
Lift vp your eyes on hie, and beholde who hath created these things, and bringeth out their armies by nomber, and calleth them all by names? by the greatnesse of his power and mightie strength nothing faileth.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, such words as these, O Israel, The Lord's eyes are not on my way, and my God gives no attention to my cause?
Why sayest thou, O Iaakob, and speakest O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my iudgement is passed ouer of my God?
28 Have you no knowledge of it? has it not come to your ears? The eternal God, the Lord, the Maker of the ends of the earth, is never feeble or tired; there is no searching out of his wisdom.
Knowest thou not? or hast thou not heard, that the euerlasting God, the Lord hath created the endes of the earth? he neither fainteth, nor is wearie: there is no searching of his vnderstanding.
29 He gives power to the feeble, increasing the strength of him who has no force.
But he giueth strength vnto him that fainteth, and vnto him that hath no strength, he encreaseth power.
30 Even the young men will become feeble and tired, and the best of them will come to the end of his strength;
Euen the yong men shall faint, and be wearie, and the yong men shall stumble and fall.
31 But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness.
But they that waite vpon the Lord, shall renue their strength: they shall lift vp the wings as the eagles: they shall runne, and not be wearie, and they shall walke and not faint.
