Isaiah 40
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, will your God say.
“Comfort, 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 to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her, That her warfare has been completed, That her punishment has been accepted, That she has received from the hand of YHWH Double for all her 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 crying in a wilderness: “Prepare the way of YHWH, Make straight in a desert a highway for our God.
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.
Every valley is raised up, And every mountain and hill become low, And the crooked place has become a plain, And the entangled places a valley.
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.
And the glory of YHWH has been revealed, And all flesh have seen [it] together, For the mouth of YHWH has spoken.”
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 saying, “Call,” And he said, “What do I call?” All flesh [is] grass, and all its goodness [Is] as a flower of the field:
7 The grasse withereth, the floure fadeth, because the Spirite of the Lord bloweth vpon it: surely the people is grasse.
Grass has withered, the flower faded, For the Spirit of YHWH blew on it, Surely the people [is] grass;
8 The grasse withereth, the floure fadeth: but the worde of our God shall stand for euer.
Grass has withered, the flower faded, But a word of our God rises 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.
Get up on a high mountain, O Zion, Proclaiming tidings, Lift up your voice with power, O Jerusalem, proclaiming tidings, Lift up, do not fear, say to cities of Judah, “Behold, 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,
Behold, Lord YHWH comes with strength, And His arm is ruling for Him, Behold, His hire [is] with Him, and His wage before Him.
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 feeds His flock as a shepherd, He gathers lambs with His arm, And He carries [them] in His bosom: He leads suckling ones.
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 in the hollow of His hand, And has meted out the heavens by a span, And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, And has weighed the mountains in scales, And the hills in a balance?
13 Who hath instructed ye Spirit of the Lord? or was his counseler or taught him?
Who has meted out the Spirit of YHWH, And [being] His counselor, teaches Him?
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?
With whom [did] He consult, That he causes Him to understand? And teaches Him in the path of judgment, And teaches Him knowledge? And causes Him to know the way of understanding?
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.
Behold, nations [are] as a drop from a bucket, And have been reckoned as small dust of the balance, Behold, He takes up islands as a small thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient for fire, nor the beastes thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt-offering.
17 All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him, lesse then nothing, and vanitie.
All the nations [are] as nothing before Him, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him.
18 To whom then wil ye liken God? or what similitude will ye set vp vnto him?
And to whom do you liken God, And what likeness do you compare to Him?
19 The workeman melteth an image, or the goldsmith beateth it out in golde, or the goldesmith maketh siluer plates.
An artisan has poured out the carved image, And a refiner spreads it over with gold, And he is refining chains of silver.
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.
He who is poor [by] raised-offerings, Chooses a tree [that is] not rotten, He seeks a skillful artisan for it, To establish a carved image—not moved.
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?
Do you not know—do you not hear? Has it not been declared from the first to you? Have you not understood [From] the foundations of the earth?
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.
He who is sitting on the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants [are] as grasshoppers, He who is stretching out the heavens as a thin thing, And spreads them as a tent to dwell in.
23 He bringeth the princes to nothing, and maketh the iudges of the earth, as vanitie,
He who is making princes become nothing, Has made judges of earth formless;
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.
Indeed, they have not been planted, Indeed, they have not been sown, Indeed, their stock is not taking root in the earth, And He has also blown on them, and they wither, And a whirlwind takes them away as stubble.
25 To whom nowe will ye liken me, that I should be like him, saith the Holy one?
And to whom do you liken Me, And [to whom] I equal? Says 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.
Lift up your eyes on high, And see—who has created these? He who is bringing out their host by number, He calls to all of them by name, By the abundance of His strength And mighty power, Not one is lacking.
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 say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way has been hid from YHWH, And from my God my judgment passes over?”
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.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The God of the age—YHWH, Preparer of the ends of the earth, Is not wearied nor fatigued, There is no searching of His understanding.
29 But he giueth strength vnto him that fainteth, and vnto him that hath no strength, he encreaseth power.
He is giving power to the weary, And to those not strong He increases might.
30 Euen the yong men shall faint, and be wearie, and the yong men shall stumble and fall.
Even youths are wearied and fatigued, And young men utterly stumble,
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 expecting YHWH pass [to] power, They raise up the pinion as eagles, They run and are not fatigued, They go on and do not faint!
