Isaiah 40
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, will your God say.
“Comfort, yes comfort my people!” says your God.
2 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.
“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.”
3 A voyce cryeth in the wildernesse, Prepare ye the way of the Lord: make streight in the desert a path for our God.
A voice is heard calling, “Prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make a straight highway for our God through the desert.
4 Euery valley shall be exalted, and euery mountaine and hill shall be made lowe: and the crooked shalbe streight, and the rough places plaine.
Fill in all the valleys; level all the mountains and hills; smooth out the uneven ground; make the rough places flat.
5 And the glory of the Lord shalbe reueiled, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
The Lord's glory will be revealed, and everyone will see it together. This is what the Lord has declared.”
6 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.
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.
7 The grasse withereth, the floure fadeth, because the Spirite of the Lord bloweth vpon it: surely the people is grasse.
The grass wilts and the flower fades when the Lord's breathes on them. Yes, the people are grass!
8 The grasse withereth, the floure fadeth: but the worde of our God shall stand for euer.
However, even though the grass wilts and the flower fades, the word of our God will endure forever.”
9 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.
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!”
10 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,
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.
11 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.
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.
12 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?
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?
13 Who hath instructed ye Spirit of the Lord? or was his counseler or taught him?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or taught him what to do as his counselor?
14 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?
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?
15 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.
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.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient for fire, nor the beastes thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
All the wood in Lebanon for a fire and all its animals as a sacrifice wouldn't be enough a burnt offering.
17 All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him, lesse then nothing, and vanitie.
To him all the nations are like nothing. He counts them as less than nothing—like they don't exist.
18 To whom then wil ye liken God? or what similitude will ye set vp vnto him?
Who do you think is like God? What image do you think he looks like?
19 The workeman melteth an image, or the goldsmith beateth it out in golde, or the goldesmith maketh siluer plates.
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?
20 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.
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.
21 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?
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?
22 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.
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.
23 He bringeth the princes to nothing, and maketh the iudges of the earth, as vanitie,
He brings leaders down; he makes the rulers of the world like nothing.
24 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.
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.
25 To whom nowe will ye liken me, that I should be like him, saith the Holy one?
“Who are you going to compare me with? Who is equal to me?” asks the Holy One.
26 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.
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.
27 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?
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!”
28 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.
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.
29 But he giueth strength vnto him that fainteth, and vnto him that hath no strength, he encreaseth power.
He gives strength to the weary and power the powerless.
30 Euen the yong men shall faint, and be wearie, and the yong men shall stumble and fall.
Even young people grow weak and tired—they fall down when they're exhausted.
31 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.
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.
