Isaiah 40
1 Give comfort, give comfort, to my people, says your God.
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
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.
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem; and proclaim to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received double from Yahweh's hand for all her sins.”
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 voice cries out, “In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh; make straight in the Arabah a highway 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,
Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; and the rugged land will be made level, and the rough places a plain;
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 Yahweh will be revealed, and all people will see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has 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 voice says, “Cry.” Another answers, “What should I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all their covenant faithfulness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass becomes dry, the flower is dead; because the breath of the Lord goes over it: truly the people is grass.
The grass withers and the flower wilts when the breath of Yahweh blows on it; surely humanity is grass.
8 The grass is dry, the flower is dead; but the word of our God is eternal.
The grass withers, the flower wilts, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
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!
Go up on a high mountain, Zion, bearer of good news. Shout out loud, Jerusalem. You who bring good news, raise your voice, do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is 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.
Look, the Lord Yahweh comes as a victorious warrior, and his strong arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and those he has rescued go 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 will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather in his arm the lambs, and carry them close to his heart, and will gently lead the ewes nursing their 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 has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, measured the sky with the span of his hand, held the dust of the earth in a basket, weighed the mountains in scales, or the hills in a balance?
13 By whom has the spirit of the Lord been guided, or who has been his teacher?
Who has comprehended the mind of Yahweh, or instructed him as his counselor?
14 Who gave him suggestions, and made clear to him the right way? who gave him knowledge, guiding him in the way of wisdom?
From whom did he ever receive instruction? Who taught him the correct way to do things, and taught him knowledge, or showed to him the way of understanding?
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.
Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded like the dust on the scales; see, he weighs the isles as a speck.
16 And Lebanon is not enough to make a fire with, or all its cattle enough for a burned offering.
Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor its wild animals sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him; even less than nothing, a thing of no value.
All the nations are insufficient before him; they are regarded by him as nothing.
18 Whom then is God like, in your opinion? or what will you put forward as a comparison with him?
To whom then will you compare God? To what idol will you liken him?
19 The workman makes an image, and the gold-worker puts gold plates over it, and makes silver bands for it.
An idol! A craftsman casts it: The goldsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it.
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.
To make an offering one chooses a wood that will not rot; he seeks a skillful artisan to make an idol that will not fall over.
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?
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations 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 is the one who sits above the horizon of the earth; and the inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out as a tent to live in.
23 He makes rulers come to nothing; the judges of the earth are of no value.
He reduces rulers to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth insignificant.
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.
They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem has barely taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them and they wither, and the wind carries them away like straw.
25 Who then seems to you to be my equal? says the Holy One.
“To whom then will you compare me, whom do I resemble?” says 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.
Look up at the sky! Who has created all these stars? He leads out their formations and calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might and by the strength of his power, not one is missing.
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 do you say, Jacob, and declare, Israel, “My way is hidden from Yahweh, and my God is not concerned about my vindication”?
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.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his understanding.
29 He gives power to the feeble, increasing the strength of him who has no force.
He gives strength to the tired; and to the weak he gives renewed energy.
30 Even the young men will become feeble and tired, and the best of them will come to the end of his strength;
Even young people become tired and weary, and young men 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 those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength; they will soar with wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary; they will walk and not faint.
