Isaiah 40

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

Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God.

2 Speak ye [comfort] to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out unto her, that her time of sorrow is accomplished, that her iniquity is atoned for; for she hath received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.

Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.

3 A voice calleth out, In the wilderness make ye clear the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for God.

The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God.

4 Every valley shall be raised, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made a straight path, and the rough places a plain:

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways 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.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.

6 A voice saith, Proclaim; and he saith, What shall I proclaim? all flesh is grass, and all its goodliness is as the flower of the field:

The voice of one, saying: Cry. And I said: What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the held.

7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the Lord hath blown upon it; surely the people is grass.

The grass is withered, and the dower is fallen, because the spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Indeed the people is grass:

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

The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth for ever.

9 Upon a high mountain get thee up, thou that bringest good tidings to Zion; lift up with strength thy voice, thou who bringest good tidings to Jerusalem; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, [here is] your God!

Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:

10 Behold, the Lord Eternal will come with might, and his arm ruleth for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.

11 Like a shepherd will he feed his flock: with his arm will he gather the lambs, and in his bosom will he carry them, will he lead gently those that suckle their young.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.

12 Who hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters, and meted out the heavens with the span, and comprised in a measure the dust of the earth, and weighed in the scale-beam the mountains, and the hills in balances?

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm? who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

13 Who hath meted out the Spirit of the Lord? and [who was] his counsellor that he could have given him information?

Who hath forwarded the spirit of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor, and hath taught him?

14 With whom took he counsel, that he gave him understanding, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and caused him to know the way of understanding?

With whom hath he consulted, and who hath instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, nations are as a drop out of a bucket, and as the small dust of the balance are they accounted: behold, isles are like the flying dust.

Behold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a balance: behold the islands are as a little dust.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient for burning, and its beasts do not suffice for burnt-offering.

And Libanus shall not be enough to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All the nations are as naught before him; less than nothing, and vanity are they accounted to him.

All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to him as nothing, and vanity.

18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

To whom then have you likened God? or what image will you make for him?

19 The graven image the artificer hath cast and the goldsmith hath overspread it with gold, and fabricated [on it] silver chains.

Hath the workman cast a graven statue? or hath the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?

20 He that is skilled in the choice chooseth a wood that will not rot; he seeketh unto himself a skilful workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot: the skillful workman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.

21 Know ye not? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not paid attention to the foundations of the earth?

Do you not know? hath it not been heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood the foundations of the earth?

22 [It is he] that dwelleth above the circle of the earth, while its inhabitants are as grasshoppers; that stretched out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;

It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.

23 That bringeth princes to naught; rendering the judges of the earth as vanity.

He that bringeth the searchers of secrets to nothing, that hath made the judges of the earth as vanity.

24 Yes, they were not yet planted; yea, they were not yet sown; yea, their stem had not yet taken root in the earth: when he but breathed upon them, and they withered, and the storm-wind carrieth them away as stubble.

And surely their stock was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the earth: suddenly he hath blown upon them, and they are withered, and a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

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

And to whom have ye likened me, or made me 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; that calleth them all by name; from the Mighty One not one escapeth.

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things: who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by their names: by the greatness of his might, and strength, and power, not one of them was missing.

27 Why wilt thou say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, and my cause hath passed from the cognizance of my God?

Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

28 Dost thou not know? hast thou not heard? The God of everlasting is the Lord, is the Creator of the ends of the earth; he will not be faint and weary; unsearchable is his understanding.

Knowest thou not, or hast thou not heard? the Lord is the everlasting God, who hath created the ends of the earth: he shall not faint, nor labour, neither is there any searching out of his wisdom.

29 He giveth to the faint strength; and to the powerless he imparteth much might.

It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force and might to them that are not.

30 Though youths should grow faint and be weary, and young men should utterly stumble:

Youths shall faint, and labour, and young men shall fall by infirmity.

31 Yet they that wait upon the Lord shall acquire new strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk, and not become faint.

But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.