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 unto the heart of Jerusalem, And cry unto her, —That accomplished is her warfare, That accepted is her punishment, —That she hath received, at the hand of Yahweh, According to the full measure of 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!
A voice of one crying!—In the desert, prepare ye the way of Yahweh, —Make smooth in the waste plain 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.
Let, every valley, be exalted, And every mountain and hill, be made low, —And, the steep ground become, level, And, the chain of hills—a 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!”
Then shall be revealed the glory of Yahweh, —And all flesh shall see it together, For, the mouth of Yahweh, hath spoken!
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.
A voice saying Cry! And one said—What should I cry? All flesh, is grass, And, all the grace thereof, like 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 hath withered The flower hath faded, Because, the breath of Yahweh, hath blown 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, hath withered, The flower, hath faded, —But the word of our God, shall stand unto times age-abiding!
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!
To a high mountain, get ye up, O herald—band of Zion, Lift high with strength your voice, O herald—band of Jerusalem, —Lift it high, do not fear, Say to the cities of Judah—Lo! 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.
Lo! My Lord, Yahweh, as a mighty one, doth come, And, his own arm, is about to rule for him, —Lo! 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.
Like a shepherd, his flock, will he tend, In his own arm, will he take up the lambs, And in his own bosom, will he carry [them], —Them which are with young, will he lead to a place of rest.
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, with the hollow of his hand, the waters. Or the heavens with a span, hath meted out, Or hath comprehended, in a measure, the dust of the earth, Or weighed, in scales, the mountains, Or the hills, in a balance?
13 Who hath searched out the spirit of Jehovah, Or, being his counsellor, hath taught him?
Who hath proved the spirit of Yahweh? Or being his counsellor hath been giving him knowledge?
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 hath he taken counsel—And he hath given him intelligence, And instructed him in the path of justice, —And taught him knowledge, And in the way of intelligence, hath been giving him 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,
Lo! nations, Are us a drop on a bucket, And as fine dust on a balance, are accounted, —Lo! islands, like an atom, can he hoist;
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 an ascending-sacrifice!
17 All the nations are as nothing before him; They are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
All nations, are as nothing before him, —A thing of nought or a waste, are they accounted unto him?
18 To whom then will ye liken God, And what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Unto whom then can ye liken GOD? Or, what likeness, can ye compare unto him?
19 The workman casteth an image, And the smith overlayeth it with gold, And casteth for it silver chains.
The image, hath been cast by an artificer, And a goldsmith, with gold, overlayeth it, —And, chains of silver, he worketh.
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.
The needy offerer, of a tree that will not rot, maketh choice, —A skilled artificer, seeketh he out for himself to construct an image that shall not totter,
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 never taken note? Have ye never heard? Hath it not from the beginning, been told you? Have ye not been led to discern, 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 sitteth upon the circle of the earth, While the inhabitants thereof are, as grass-hoppers, —Who stretcheth forth, as a curtain, the heavens, 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.
Who delivereth dignitaries to nothingness, —Judges of earth, like a desolation, hath he made:
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.
Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely hath their stock, begun to take root in the earth, When he hath just blown upon them and they have withered, And, a whirlwind, as though they had been chaff, carrieth them away.
25 To whom then will ye liken me, And to whom shall I be compared? Saith the Holy One.
Unto whom then, can ye liken me, or can 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 on high your eyes—and see who hath created these, That bringeth forth, by number, their host, —To all of them by name, doth call, Because of the abundance of vigour and alertness of strength, not one, is missing!
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, “My way is hidden from Jehovah, My cause passeth by before my God”?
Wherefore, shouldest thou say, O Jacob, or speak, O Israel, —Hidden is my path from Yahweh, And from my God, my vindication, will pass?
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 God of age-past time—Yahweh The Creator of the ends of the earth Fainteth not neither groweth weary—There is no searching of his understanding:
29 He giveth power to the faint; To the feeble abundant strength.
Giving to him that fainteth, strength, And to him that hath no vigour, he causeth, power to abound?
30 The youths shall faint and be weary, And the young warriors shall utterly fall.
Youths both faint and grow weary, And, young warriors—they fall, they 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 who wait for Yahweh, shall renew their strength, They shall mount on strong pinion like eagles, —They shall run and not grow weary, They shall walk and not faint.
