Isaiah 40

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God.

Comfort ye—comfort ye my people, —Saith your God.

2 Bid Jerusalem take heart, and proclaim unto her, that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off; that she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her 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 Hark! one calleth: 'Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make plain in the desert a highway for our God.

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 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the rugged shall be made level, and the rough places a plain;

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 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.'

Then shall be revealed the glory of Yahweh, —And all flesh shall see it together, For, the mouth of Yahweh, hath spoken!

6 Hark! one saith: 'Proclaim!' And he saith: 'What shall I proclaim?' 'All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower 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 withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the LORD bloweth upon it — surely the people is grass.

The grass hath withered The flower hath faded, Because, the breath of Yahweh, hath blown upon it! Surely the people is grass!

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever.'

The grass, hath withered, The flower, hath faded, —But the word of our God, shall stand unto times age-abiding!

9 O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah: 'Behold 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 Behold, the Lord GOD will come as a Mighty One, and His arm will rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.

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 Even as a shepherd that feedeth his flock, that gathereth the lambs in his arm, and carrieth them in his bosom, and gently leadeth those that give suck.

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 hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in 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 hath meted out the spirit of the LORD? Or who was His counsellor that he might instruct Him?

Who hath proved the spirit of Yahweh? Or being his counsellor hath been giving him knowledge?

14 With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of right, and taught Him knowledge, and made Him to know the way of discernment?

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 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold the isles are as a mote in weight.

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 And Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for burnt-offerings.

And, Lebanon, is not sufficient to burn, —Nor, the beasts thereof sufficient for an ascending-sacrifice!

17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are accounted by Him as things of nought, and vanity.

All nations, are as nothing before him, —A thing of nought or a waste, are they accounted unto him?

18 To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?

Unto whom then can ye liken GOD? Or, what likeness, can ye compare unto him?

19 The image perchance, which the craftsman hath melted, and the goldsmith spread over with gold, the silversmith casting silver chains?

The image, hath been cast by an artificer, And a goldsmith, with gold, overlayeth it, —And, chains of silver, he worketh.

20 A holm-oak is set apart, he chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning craftsman to set up an image, that shall not be moved.

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 Know ye not? hear ye not? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundations of the earth?

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 It is He that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell 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 That bringeth princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as a thing of nought.

Who delivereth dignitaries to nothingness, —Judges of earth, like a desolation, hath he made:

24 Scarce are they planted, scarce are they sown, scarce hath their stock taken root in the earth; when He bloweth upon them, they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.

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 To whom then will ye liken Me, that I should be equal? saith the Holy One.

Unto whom then, can ye liken me, or can I be equal? Saith the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see: who hath created these? He that bringeth out their host by number, He calleth them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one faileth.

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 sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: 'My way is hid from the LORD, and my right is passed over from my God'?

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 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? His discernment is past searching out.

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 giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might He increaseth strength.

Giving to him that fainteth, strength, And to him that hath no vigour, he causeth, power to abound?

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall;

Youths both faint and grow weary, And, young warriors—they fall, they fall;

31 But they that wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.

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.