Isaiah 40
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
“Comfort, yes comfort my people!” says your God.
2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of Yhwh's hand double for all her sins.
“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 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Yhwh, make straight in the desert a highway 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 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
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 Yhwh shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of Yhwh hath spoken it.
The Lord's glory will be revealed, and everyone will see it together. This is what the Lord has declared.”
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
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 grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of Yhwh bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
The grass wilts and the flower fades when the Lord's breathes on them. Yes, the people are grass!
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
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 up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold 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 Behold, the Lord Yhwh will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work 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 feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are 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 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 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 directed the Spirit of Yhwh, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or taught him what to do as his counselor?
14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
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 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
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 to burn, nor the beasts 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 less than nothing, and vanity.
To him all the nations are like nothing. He counts them as less than nothing—like they don't exist.
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Who do you think is like God? What image do you think he looks like?
19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
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 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
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 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations 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 It is he that sitteth upon 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:
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 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
He brings leaders down; he makes the rulers of the world like nothing.
24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall 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 then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
“Who are you going to compare me with? Who is equal to me?” asks the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one 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 Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Yhwh, and my judgment is passed over from 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 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, Yhwh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
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 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
He gives strength to the weary and power the powerless.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Even young people grow weak and tired—they fall down when they're exhausted.
31 But they that wait upon Yhwh shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, 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.
