Isaiah 40

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

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith 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 unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’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 him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, 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 be made straight, and the rough places plain:

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 the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of the LORD hath 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 thereof [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 withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth 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 withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

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 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!

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 GOD will come with strong [hand], and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work 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 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.

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 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 hath searched out the spirit of Jehovah, Or, being his counsellor, hath taught him?

Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counsellor hath 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 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?

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 counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh 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 thereof 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 nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him 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 unto him?

19 The workman casteth an image, And the smith overlayeth it with gold, And casteth for it silver chains.

The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth 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 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.

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 ye not heard? hath 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 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:

23 That bringeth princes to nothing, And reduceth the rulers of the earth to vanity.

That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh 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 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.

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, or shall I be equal? saith 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 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.

27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, “My way is hidden from Jehovah, My cause passeth by before 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 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.

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? [there is] no searching of his understanding.

29 He giveth power to the faint; To the feeble abundant strength.

He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth 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 they that wait upon the LORD 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.