Isaiah 40
1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
Our God says, “Encourage my people! Encourage them!
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.
Speak kindly to [the people of] Jerusalem; tell them that their suffering is ended, and that I have forgiven them for the sins that they have committed; I [SYN] have fully punished them for their sins.”
3 A voice is crying in a wilderness: “Prepare the way of YHWH, Make straight in a desert a highway for our God.
I hear someone who is shouting, “Prepare in the desert a way for Yahweh to come [to you]; make a smooth road for our God (OR, Prepare yourselves to receive Yahweh when he comes, like people make a straight road for an important official [MET]).
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.
Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and every mountain. Make the uneven ground smooth, and make the rough places smooth.
5 And the glory of YHWH has been revealed, And all flesh have seen [it] together, For the mouth of YHWH has spoken.”
[If you do that], it will become known that Yahweh is glorious/great, and all people will realize it at the same time. [Those things will surely happen] because it is Yahweh who has said [MTY] 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:
Someone said to me, “Shout!” I replied, “What should I shout?” [He replied], “[Shout that] people are like [SIM] grass; their influence fades as quickly as flowers in the field.
7 Grass has withered, the flower faded, For the Spirit of YHWH blew on it, Surely the people [is] grass;
Grass withers and flowers dry up when Yahweh causes a hot wind from the desert to blow on them. And people are [MET] like that.
8 Grass has withered, the flower faded, But a word of our God rises forever.
The grass withers and the flowers dry up, but what our God promises will last forever.”
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.”
You [people of] Jerusalem, you have good news to tell to people, so, shout it from the top of a high mountain! Shout it loudly, and do not be afraid! Tell the people in the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming here!”
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.
Yahweh your God will be coming with power; he will rule powerfully [MTY]. And when he comes, he will bring with him the people whom he has freed [MET] [from being slaves in Babylonia].
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.
He will take care of his people like [SIM] a shepherd takes care of his sheep, and carries the young lambs in his arms. He carries them close to his chest and he gently leads the female sheep that are nursing their young lambs.
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?
[There is no one like Yahweh]! (Who else has measured the water in the oceans in the palm of his hand?/No one else has measured the water in the oceans in the palm of his hand!) [RHQ] (Who else has measured the sky with his fingers?/No one else has measured the sky with his fingers!) [RHQ] (Who else knows how much the earth weighs?/No one else knows how much the earth weighs!) [RHQ] (Who else has weighed the mountains and hills on scales?/No one else has weighed the mountains and hills on scales!) [RHQ]
13 Who has meted out the Spirit of YHWH, And [being] His counselor, teaches Him?
And (who else can advise Yahweh’s Spirit?/No one else can advise Yahweh’s Spirit!) [RHQ] (Who can teach him or advise/tell him what he should do?/No one can teach him or advise/tell him what he should do!) [RHQ]
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?
(Has Yahweh consulted anyone else to get advice?/Yahweh has certainly not consulted anyone else to get advice!) [RHQ] (Does he need someone to tell him what is right to do and how to act justly?/He certainly does not need someone to tell him what is right to do and how to act justly!) [RHQ]
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.
[Yahweh considers that] the nations are [as insignificant as] [MET] one drop from a bucket [full of water]. They are [as insignificant as] dust on scales. He is able to weigh islands [as though they weighed no more than] grains of sand.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt-offering.
There would be [not] enough wood from all the trees in Lebanon to make a suitable fire for [sacrificing animals to] him, and there are not enough animals in Lebanon to offer as sacrifices to him.
17 All the nations [are] as nothing before Him, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him.
The nations of the world are completely insignificant/unimportant to him; he considers that they are worthless and less than nothing [HYP, DOU].
18 And to whom do you liken God, And what likeness do you compare to Him?
So, to whom can you compare God? What image resembles 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.
Can you compare him to an idol that is made in a mold, and then is covered with [a thin sheet of] gold and decorated with 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 man who is poor [cannot buy silver or gold for his idol]; [so] he selects a piece of wood that will not rot, and he gives it to a craftsman to carve an idol that will not fall down!
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?
Have you(pl) not heard this? Do you not understand it? Are you unable to hear what God said long ago— [messages that he gave] before he created 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.
God sits [on his throne] above the earth, and the people [on the earth] below seem to be [as small] as [SIM] grasshoppers. He spreads out the sky like a curtain; it is like [SIM] a tent for him to live in.
23 He who is making princes become nothing, Has made judges of earth formless;
He causes kings to have no more power, and he causes the rulers to be worth nothing.
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.
They start to rule, like small plants start to grow and form roots; but then [he gets rid of them] as though [MET] they withered when he blew on them, like [SIM] chaff that is blown away by the wind.
25 And to whom do you liken Me, And [to whom] I equal? Says the Holy One.
The Holy One asks, “To whom will you compare me? Is anyone equal to me?”
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.
Look up toward the sky: Consider who [RHQ] created all the stars. [Yahweh created them], and at night he causes them to appear; he calls each one by its name. Because he is extremely powerful [DOU], all of the stars are there [LIT] [when he calls out their names].
27 Why say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way has been hid from YHWH, And from my God my judgment passes over?”
You people of Israel [DOU], why do you complain that Yahweh does not see the [troubles that you are experiencing]? Why do you say that he does not act fairly toward you?
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.
Have you never heard and have you never understood that Yahweh is the everlasting God; he is the one who created the earth, [even the] most distant places on the earth. He never becomes weak or weary, and no one can find out how much he understands.
29 He is giving power to the weary, And to those not strong He increases might.
He strengthens [DOU] those who feel weak and tired.
30 Even youths are wearied and fatigued, And young men utterly stumble,
Even youths become faint and weary, and young men will fall when they are exhausted.
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 those who trust in Yahweh will become strong again; [it will be as though] they will soar/fly high like [SIM] eagles do. They will run [for a long time] and not become weary; they will walk [long distances] and not faint.
