Isaiah 40
1 “Comfort, yes comfort my people!” says your God.
Comfort ye—comfort ye my people, —Saith your God.
2 “Speak lovingly to the people of Jerusalem, telling them that their hard times are over, that their sins have been forgiven, and that the Lord has paid them twice over for their sins.”
Speak ye unto the heart of Jerusalem, And cry unto her, —That accomplished is her warfare, That accepted is her punishment, —That she hath received, at the hand of Yahweh, According to the full measure of all her sins.
3 A voice is heard calling, “Prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make a straight highway for our God through the desert.
A voice of one crying!—In the desert, prepare ye the way of Yahweh, —Make smooth in the waste plain a highway for our God:
4 Fill in all the valleys; level all the mountains and hills; smooth out the uneven ground; make the rough places flat.
Let, every valley, be exalted, And every mountain and hill, be made low, —And, the steep ground become, level, And, the chain of hills—a plain:
5 The Lord's glory will be revealed, and everyone will see it together. This is what the Lord has declared.”
Then shall be revealed the glory of Yahweh, —And all flesh shall see it together, For, the mouth of Yahweh, hath spoken!
6 A voice is heard saying, “Shout it out.” I asked, “What shall I shout?” “All human beings are like grass, and all their trustworthiness is like the flowers of the field.
A voice saying Cry! And one said—What should I cry? All flesh, is grass, And, all the grace thereof, like the flower of the field:
7 The grass wilts and the flower fades when the Lord's breathes on them. Yes, the people are grass!
The grass hath withered The flower hath faded, Because, the breath of Yahweh, hath blown upon it! Surely the people is grass!
8 However, even though the grass wilts and the flower fades, the word of our God will endure forever.”
The grass, hath withered, The flower, hath faded, —But the word of our God, shall stand unto times age-abiding!
9 Zion, bringer of good news, go up a high mountain. Jerusalem, bringer of good news, raise your voice and shout out loud. Don't be afraid to shout really loud! Tell the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”
To a high mountain, get ye up, O herald—band of Zion, Lift high with strength your voice, O herald—band of Jerusalem, —Lift it high, do not fear, Say to the cities of Judah—Lo! your God!
10 Look! The Lord God is coming with power! He will rule with a firm hand. Look! He's bringing his reward with him, coming to give his gift.
Lo! My Lord, Yahweh, as a mighty one, doth come, And, his own arm, is about to rule for him, —Lo! his reward, is with him, And, his recompense, before him;
11 He looks after his flock like a shepherd. He picks up the lambs in his arms and holds them close to his chest. He leads those that are nursing young.
Like a shepherd, his flock, will he tend, In his own arm, will he take up the lambs, And in his own bosom, will he carry [them], —Them which are with young, will he lead to a place of rest.
12 Who has measured the waters he holds in the palm of his hand? Who has marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has worked out the amount of dust of the earth? Who has weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?
Who hath measured, with the hollow of his hand, the waters. Or the heavens with a span, hath meted out, Or hath comprehended, in a measure, the dust of the earth, Or weighed, in scales, the mountains, Or the hills, in a balance?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or taught him what to do as his counselor?
Who hath proved the spirit of Yahweh? Or being his counsellor hath been giving him knowledge?
14 Who did the Lord go to for advice to help him understand? Who taught him right from wrong? Who gave him knowledge and showed him the way of wisdom?
With whom hath he taken counsel—And he hath given him intelligence, And instructed him in the path of justice, —And taught him knowledge, And in the way of intelligence, hath been giving him understanding?
15 It's obvious that the nations are just a drop in a bucket. They're like dust on a set of scales. He can pick up islands as if they weigh next to nothing.
Lo! nations, Are us a drop on a bucket, And as fine dust on a balance, are accounted, —Lo! islands, like an atom, can he hoist;
16 All the wood in Lebanon for a fire and all its animals as a sacrifice wouldn't be enough a burnt offering.
And, Lebanon, is not sufficient to burn, —Nor, the beasts thereof sufficient for an ascending-sacrifice!
17 To him all the nations are like nothing. He counts them as less than nothing—like they don't exist.
All nations, are as nothing before him, —A thing of nought or a waste, are they accounted unto him?
18 Who do you think is like God? What image do you think he looks like?
Unto whom then can ye liken GOD? Or, what likeness, can ye compare unto him?
19 Is he a metal idol that a craftsman casts in a mold, and then a goldsmith overlays it with gold and makes silver chains for it?
The image, hath been cast by an artificer, And a goldsmith, with gold, overlayeth it, —And, chains of silver, he worketh.
20 Those who are too poor to pay for that choose wood that won't rot, then they look for a skilled wood-carver to make an idol that won't fall over.
The needy offerer, of a tree that will not rot, maketh choice, —A skilled artificer, seeketh he out for himself to construct an image that shall not totter,
21 Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Hasn't it been explained to you from the very beginning? Haven't you understood from the time the world was created?
Have ye never taken note? Have ye never heard? Hath it not from the beginning, been told you? Have ye not been led to discern, from the foundations of the earth?
22 God sits on his throne above the horizon of the earth; the people that live there are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, spreading them out like a tent to live in.
It is he who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, While the inhabitants thereof are, as grass-hoppers, —Who stretcheth forth, as a curtain, the heavens, And spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
23 He brings leaders down; he makes the rulers of the world like nothing.
Who delivereth dignitaries to nothingness, —Judges of earth, like a desolation, hath he made:
24 In fact they are hardly even planted, hardly even sown, hardly even taken root, when he blows on them and they wither, and the wind carries them away like straw.
Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely hath their stock, begun to take root in the earth, When he hath just blown upon them and they have withered, And, a whirlwind, as though they had been chaff, carrieth them away.
25 “Who are you going to compare me with? Who is equal to me?” asks the Holy One.
Unto whom then, can ye liken me, or can I be equal? Saith the Holy One.
26 Look at the heavens. Who created all this? He leads the stars like an army, and calls each one by name. Because he has great power and incredible strength, not a single one of them is missing.
Lift on high your eyes—and see who hath created these, That bringeth forth, by number, their host, —To all of them by name, doth call, Because of the abundance of vigour and alertness of strength, not one, is missing!
27 Why do you speak like this, Jacob, and why do you say, Israel, “The Lord doesn't see what's happening to me, and he's ignoring my rights!”
Wherefore, shouldest thou say, O Jacob, or speak, O Israel, —Hidden is my path from Yahweh, And from my God, my vindication, will pass?
28 Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The Lord is the eternal God, the Creator of the whole earth. He's never weak or tired; you can't find out all he knows.
Hast thou not known, Hast thou not heard, That The God of age-past time—Yahweh The Creator of the ends of the earth Fainteth not neither groweth weary—There is no searching of his understanding:
29 He gives strength to the weary and power the powerless.
Giving to him that fainteth, strength, And to him that hath no vigour, he causeth, power to abound?
30 Even young people grow weak and tired—they fall down when they're exhausted.
Youths both faint and grow weary, And, young warriors—they fall, they fall;
31 But those who trust in the Lord will have their strength renewed. They will fly high with wings like eagles. They will run and not be tired. They will walk and not be worn out.
But, they who wait for Yahweh, shall renew their strength, They shall mount on strong pinion like eagles, —They shall run and not grow weary, They shall walk and not faint.
