Isaiah 40

1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.

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

2 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.

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.

3 A voice is crying in a wilderness: “Prepare the way of YHWH, Make straight in a desert a highway for our God.

Hark! one calleth: 'Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make plain in the desert a highway for our God.

4 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.

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;

5 And the glory of YHWH has been revealed, And all flesh have seen [it] together, For the mouth of YHWH has spoken.”

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.'

6 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:

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;

7 Grass has withered, the flower faded, For the Spirit of YHWH blew on it, Surely the people [is] grass;

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the LORD bloweth upon it — surely the people is grass.

8 Grass has withered, the flower faded, But a word of our God rises forever.

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

9 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.”

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!'

10 Behold, Lord YHWH comes with strength, And His arm is ruling for Him, Behold, His hire [is] with Him, and His wage before Him.

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.

11 He feeds His flock as a shepherd, He gathers lambs with His arm, And He carries [them] in His bosom: He leads suckling ones.

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.

12 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?

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?

13 Who has meted out the Spirit of YHWH, And [being] His counselor, teaches Him?

Who hath meted out the spirit of the LORD? Or who was His counsellor that he might instruct Him?

14 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?

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?

15 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.

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.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt-offering.

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

17 All the nations [are] as nothing before Him, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him.

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

18 And to whom do you liken God, And what likeness do you compare to Him?

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

19 An artisan has poured out the carved image, And a refiner spreads it over with gold, And he is refining chains of silver.

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

20 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.

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.

21 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?

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

22 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.

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;

23 He who is making princes become nothing, Has made judges of earth formless;

That bringeth princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as a thing of nought.

24 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.

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.

25 And to whom do you liken Me, And [to whom] I equal? Says the Holy One.

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

26 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.

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.

27 Why say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way has been hid from YHWH, And from my God my judgment passes over?”

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'?

28 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.

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.

29 He is giving power to the weary, And to those not strong He increases might.

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

30 Even youths are wearied and fatigued, And young men utterly stumble,

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

31 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!

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.