Isaiah 40
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, Saith your God.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, says your God.
2 Speak ye encouragement to Jerusalem, and declare to her, That her hard service is ended; That her iniquity is expiated; That she hath received from the hand of Jehovah Double for all her sins.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry to her, that her warfare has been completed, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice crieth: “Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God!
The voice of a man crying out in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, And every mountain and hill be made low; The crooked shall become straight, And the rough places plain.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. And the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places smooth.
5 For the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it!”
And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. For the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.
6 A voice said, Proclaim! And I said, What shall I proclaim? All flesh is grass, And all its comeliness as the flower of the field.
The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness of it is as the flower of the field.
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, When the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it. Truly the people is grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of Jehovah blows upon it. Surely the people is grass.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, But the word of our God shall stand forever.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever.
9 Get thee up on the high mountain, O thou that bringest glad tidings to Zion; Lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest glad tidings to Jerusalem; Lift it up; be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
O thou who tell good news to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain. O thou who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up, be not afraid, say to the cities of Judah, Behold, your God!
10 Behold, the Lord Jehovah shall come with might, And his arm shall rule for him; Behold, his reward is with him, And his recompense before him.
Behold, the lord Jehovah 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 shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather up the lambs in his arms, And carry them in his bosom, And gently lead the nursing ewes.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those who have their young.
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, And meted out the heavens with his span, And gathered the dust of the earth into a measure, And weighed the mountains in scales, And the hills in a balance?
Who has 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 hath searched out the spirit of Jehovah, Or, being his counsellor, hath taught him?
Who has known the mind of Jehovah, or being his counselor has taught him?
14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, And taught him the path of justice, And taught him knowledge, And showed him the way of understanding?
With whom did he take counsel. And who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice. And taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop from a bucket, And are accounted as the small dust of the balance; Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing,
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance. Behold, he takes up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient for fire, Nor its beasts for a burnt-offering.
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts of it sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him; They are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
All the nations are as nothing before him. They are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
18 To whom then will ye liken God, And what likeness will ye compare unto him?
To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare to him?
19 The workman casteth an image, And the smith overlayeth it with gold, And casteth for it silver chains.
The image, a workman has cast it, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains.
20 He that is too poor to make an oblation Chooseth a piece of wood that will not rot; He seeketh for himself a skilful artificer, To prepare an image that shall not be moved.
He who is too impoverished for such an oblation chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks for him a skilful workman to set up a graven image that shall not be moved.
21 Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have ye not considered the foundations of the earth?
Have ye not known? Have yet not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? 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 are to him as grasshoppers; That stretcheth out the heavens as a canopy, And spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in,
23 That bringeth princes to nothing, And reduceth the rulers of the earth to vanity.
who brings rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth as vanity.
24 Yea, scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, Scarcely hath their stem taken root in the ground, When He bloweth upon them and they wither, And the whirlwind beareth them away like stubble.
Yea, they have not been planted. Yea, they have not been sown. Yea, their stock has not taken root in the earth. Moreover he blows upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.
25 To whom then will ye liken me, And to whom shall I be compared? Saith the Holy One.
To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and behold! Who hath created these? He draweth forth their host by number, He calleth them all by name; Through the greatness of his strength and the mightiness of his power, Not one of them faileth to appear.
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their host by number. He calls them all by name, by the greatness of his might. And because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, “My way is hidden from Jehovah, My cause passeth by before my God”?
Why do thou say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah. And the justice due to me is passed away from my God?
28 Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Jehovah is an everlasting God, The creator of the ends of the earth; He fainteth not, nor is he weary; His understanding is unsearchable.
Have thou not known? Have thou not heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, nor is weary. There is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; To the feeble abundant strength.
He gives power to the faint. And to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 The youths shall faint and be weary, And the young warriors shall utterly fall.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.
31 But they that trust in Jehovah shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles; They shall run and not be weary; They shall walk and not faint.
But those who wait for Jehovah 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.
