Isaiah 40
1 “Comfort, yes comfort my people!” says your God.
Consolamini, consolamini popule meus, dicit Deus vester.
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.”
Loquimini ad cor Ierusalem, et advocate eam: quoniam completa est malitia eius, dimissa est iniquitas illius: suscepit de manu Domini duplicia pro omnibus peccatis suis.
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.
Vox clamantis in deserto: Parate viam Domini, rectas facite in solitudine semitas Dei nostri.
4 Fill in all the valleys; level all the mountains and hills; smooth out the uneven ground; make the rough places flat.
Omnis vallis exaltabitur, et omnis mons et collis humiliabitur, et erunt prava in directa, et aspera in vias planas.
5 The Lord's glory will be revealed, and everyone will see it together. This is what the Lord has declared.”
Et revelabitur gloria Domini, et videbit omnis caro pariter quod os Domini locutum est.
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.
Vox dicentis: Clama. Et dixi: Quid clamabo? Omnis caro fœnum, et omnis gloria eius quasi flos agri.
7 The grass wilts and the flower fades when the Lord's breathes on them. Yes, the people are grass!
Exiccatum est fœnum, et cecidit flos, quia spiritus Domini sufflavit in eo. Vere fœnum est populus:
8 However, even though the grass wilts and the flower fades, the word of our God will endure forever.”
exiccatum est fœnum, et cecidit flos: Verbum autem Domini nostri manet in æternum.
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!”
Super montem excelsum ascende, tu qui evangelizas Sion: exalta in fortitudine vocem tuam, qui evangelizas Ierusalem: exalta, noli timere. Dic civitatibus Iuda: Ecce Deus vester:
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.
ecce Dominus Deus in fortitudine veniet, et brachium eius dominabitur: ecce merces eius cum eo, et opus illius coram illo.
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.
Sicut pastor gregem suum pascet: in brachio suo congregabit agnos, et in sinu suo levabit, fœtas ipse portabit.
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?
Quis mensus est pugillo aquas, et cælos palmo ponderavit? quis appendit tribus digitis molem terræ, et liberavit in pondere montes, et colles in statera?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or taught him what to do as his counselor?
Quis adiuvit spiritum Domini? aut quis consiliarius eius fuit, et ostendit illi?
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?
Cum quo iniit consilium, et instruxit eum, et docuit eum semitam iustitiæ, et erudivit eum scientiam, et viam prudentiæ ostendit illi?
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.
Ecce Gentes quasi stilla situlæ, et quasi momentum stateræ reputatæ sunt: ecce insulæ quasi pulvis exiguus.
16 All the wood in Lebanon for a fire and all its animals as a sacrifice wouldn't be enough a burnt offering.
Et Libanus non sufficiet ad succendendum, et animalia eius non sufficient ad holocaustum.
17 To him all the nations are like nothing. He counts them as less than nothing—like they don't exist.
Omnes gentes quasi non sint, sic sunt coram eo, et quasi nihilum et inane reputatæ sunt ei.
18 Who do you think is like God? What image do you think he looks like?
Cui ergo similem fecisti Deum? aut quam imaginem ponetis ei?
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?
Numquid sculptile conflavit faber? aut aurifex auro figuravit illud, et laminis argenteis argentarius?
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.
Forte lignum, et imputribile elegit: artifex sapiens quærit quomodo statuat simulacrum, quod non moveatur.
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?
Numquid non scitis? numquid non audistis? numquid non annunciatum est vobis ab initio? numquid non intellexistis fundamenta terræ?
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.
Qui sedet super gyrum terræ, et habitatores eius sunt quasi locustæ: qui extendit velut nihilum cælos, et expandit eos sicut tabernaculum ad inhabitandum.
23 He brings leaders down; he makes the rulers of the world like nothing.
Qui dat secretorum scrutatores quasi non sint, iudices terræ velut inane fecit:
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.
et quidem neque plantatus, neque satus, neque radicatus in terra truncus eorum: repente flavit in eos, et aruerunt, et turbo quasi stipulam auferet eos.
25 “Who are you going to compare me with? Who is equal to me?” asks the Holy One.
Et cui assimilastis me, et adæquastis, dicit sanctus?
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.
Levate in excelsum oculos vestros, et videte quis creavit hæc: qui educit in numero militiam eorum, et omnes ex nomine vocat: præ multitudine fortitudinis et roboris, virtutisque eius, neque unum reliquum fuit.
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!”
Quare dicis Iacob, et loqueris Israel: Abscondita est via mea a Domino, et a Deo meo iudicium meum transivit?
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.
Numquid nescis, aut non audisti? Deus sempiternus Dominus, qui creavit terminos terræ: non deficiet, neque laborabit, nec est investigatio sapientiæ eius.
29 He gives strength to the weary and power the powerless.
Qui dat lasso virtutem: et his, qui non sunt, fortitudinem et robur multiplicat.
30 Even young people grow weak and tired—they fall down when they're exhausted.
Deficient pueri, et laborabunt, et iuvenes in infirmitate cadent.
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.
Qui autem sperant in Domino, mutabunt fortitudinem, assument pennas sicut aquilæ, current et non laborabunt, ambulabunt et non deficient.
