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 to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her, That her warfare hath been completed, That accepted hath been her punishment, That she hath received from the hand of Jehovah Double for 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 is crying — in a wilderness — Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, Make straight in a desert a highway to 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;
Every valley is raised up, And every mountain and hill become low, And the crooked place hath become a plain, And the entangled places a valley.
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.'
And revealed hath been the honour of Jehovah, And seen [it] have all flesh together, For the mouth of Jehovah 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 is saying, 'Call,' And he said, 'What do I call?' All flesh [is] grass, and all its goodliness [is] As a 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.
Withered hath grass, faded the flower, For the Spirit of Jehovah blew upon it, Surely the people [is] grass;
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever.'
Withered hath grass, faded the flower, But a word of our God riseth for ever.
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!'
On a high mountain get thee up, O Zion, Proclaiming tidings, Lift up with power thy voice, O Jerusalem, proclaiming tidings, Lift up, fear not, say to 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, the Lord Jehovah with strength cometh, And His arm is ruling for Him, Lo, His hire [is] with Him, and His wage 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.
As a shepherd His flock He feedeth, With His arm He gathereth lambs, And in His bosom He carrieth [them]: Suckling ones He leadeth.
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 in the hollow of his hand the waters? And the heavens by a span hath meted out, And comprehended in a measure the dust of the earth, And hath weighed in scales the mountains, And 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 meted out the Spirit of Jehovah, And, [being] His counsellor, doth teach Him!
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 consulted He, That he causeth Him to understand? And teacheth Him in the path of judgment, And teacheth Him knowledge? And the way of understanding causeth Him to know?
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 as a drop from a bucket, And as small dust of the balance, have been reckoned, Lo, isles as a small thing He taketh up.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for burnt-offerings.
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt-offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are accounted by Him as things of nought, and vanity.
All the nations [are] as nothing before Him, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him.
18 To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?
And unto whom do ye liken God, And what likeness do ye compare to Him?
19 The image perchance, which the craftsman hath melted, and the goldsmith spread over with gold, the silversmith casting silver chains?
The graven image poured out hath a artisan, And a refiner with gold spreadeth it over, And chains of silver he is refining.
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.
He who is poor [by] heave-offerings, A tree not rotten doth choose, A skilful artisan he seeketh for it, To establish a graven image — not moved.
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?
Do ye not know — do ye not hear? Hath it not been declared from the first to you? Have ye not understood [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;
He who is sitting on the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants [are] as grasshoppers, He who is stretching out as a thin thing the heavens, And spreadeth them as a tent to dwell in.
23 That bringeth princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as a thing of nought.
He who is making princes become nothing, Judges of earth as emptiness hath 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.
Yea, they have not been planted, Yea, they have not been sown, Yea, not taking root in the earth is their stock, And also He hath blown upon them, and they wither, And a whirlwind as stubble taketh them away.
25 To whom then will ye liken Me, that I should be equal? saith the Holy One.
And unto whom do ye liken Me, And [am] I 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 up on high your eyes, And see — who hath prepared these? He who is bringing out by number their host, To all of them by name He calleth, By abundance of strength (And [he is] strong in power) not one is lacking.
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'?
Why sayest thou, O Jacob? and speakest thou, O Israel? 'My way hath been hid from Jehovah, And from my God my judgment passeth over.'
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? The God of the age — Jehovah, Preparer of the ends of the earth, Is not wearied nor fatigued, There is no searching of His understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might He increaseth strength.
He is giving power to the weary, And to those not strong He increaseth might.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall;
Even youths are wearied and fatigued, And young men utterly stumble,
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 those expecting Jehovah pass [to] power, They raise up the pinion as eagles, They run and are not fatigued, They go on and do not faint!
