Isaiah 40
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her time of suffering is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.
“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.”
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God!
A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
4 Every valley shall be raised up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places a plain.
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.
5 And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.
6 A voice saith, Cry. And he saith, What shall I cry? — All flesh is grass, and all the comeliness thereof as the flower of the field.
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.
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, for the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God abideth for ever.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
9 O Zion, that bringest glad tidings, get thee up into a high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest glad tidings, lift up thy voice with strength: lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
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!”
10 Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come with might, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompence before him.
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd: he will gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom; he will gently lead those that give suck.
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.
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with [his] span, and grasped the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in scales?
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?
13 Who hath directed the Spirit of Jehovah, and, [as] his counsellor, hath taught him?
Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor?
14 With whom took he counsel, and [who] gave him intelligence, and instructed him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?
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?
15 Behold, the nations are esteemed as a drop of the bucket, and as the fine dust on the scales; behold, he taketh up the isles as an atom.
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.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.
Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him; they are esteemed by him less than a cipher, and vanity.
All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
18 To whom then will ye liken God? and what likeness will ye compare unto him?
To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?
19 The workman casteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains [for it].
To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?
20 He that is impoverished, so that he hath no offering, chooseth a tree that doth not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilled workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved.
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?
21 — Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundation of the earth?
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?
22 [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a gauze curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
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.
23 that bringeth the princes to nothing, that maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely hath their stock taken root in the earth, but he also bloweth upon them and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.
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.
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see! Who hath created these things, bringing out their host by number? He calleth them all by name; through the greatness of his might and strength of power, not one faileth.
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.
27 Why sayest thou, Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and my right is passed away from my God?
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”?
28 Dost thou not know, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not nor tireth? There is no searching of his understanding.
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.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength.
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
30 Even the youths shall faint and shall tire, and the young men shall stumble and fall;
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
31 but they that wait upon Jehovah shall renew [their] strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not tire; they shall walk, and not faint.
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.
