Isaiah 40

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

“Be consoled, be consoled, O my people!” says your God.

2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; that she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.

Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out to her! For her malice has reached its end. Her iniquity has been forgiven. She has received double for all her sins from the hand of the Lord.

3 The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

The voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight the paths of our God, in a solitary place.

4 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:

Every valley will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. And the crooked will be straightened, and the uneven will become level ways.

5 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.

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed. And all flesh together will see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6 The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

The voice of one saying, “Cry out!” And I said, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.

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

The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. For the Spirit of the Lord has blown over it. Truly, the people are like grass.

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

The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. But the Word of our Lord remains for eternity.”

9 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!

You who evangelize Zion, climb a high mountain! You who evangelize Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah: “Behold, your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come as a mighty one, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his recompence before him.

Behold, the Lord God will arrive in strength, and his arm will rule. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him.

11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, [and] shall gently lead those that give suck.

He will pasture his flock like a shepherd. He will gather together the lambs with his arm, and he will lift them up to his bosom, and he himself will carry the very young.

12 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?

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and who has weighed the heavens with his palm? Who has suspended the mass of the earth with three fingers, and who has weighed the mountains on a balance and the hills on a scale?

13 Who hath directed the spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

Who has assisted the Spirit of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor and has revealed things to him?

14 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?

With whom has he consulted? And who has instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and guided him to knowledge, and revealed the way of understanding to him?

15 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.

Behold, the nations are like a drop of water in a bucket, and they are considered as the smallest grain on a balance. Behold, the islands are like a little dust.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

And Lebanon will not be sufficient to start a fire, and its animals will not be sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All the nations are as nothing before him; they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

All the nations in his sight are as if they did not exist, and they are considered by him as if they were nothingness and emptiness.

18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

Therefore, to whom would you liken God? Or with what image would you replace him?

19 The graven image, a workman melted [it], and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth [for it] silver chains.

Should the workman cast a statue? Or has the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?

20 He that is too impoverished for [such] an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.

He has chosen strong wood that will not decay. The skillful artisan seeks a way to set up an idol that cannot be moved.

21 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?

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been announced to you from the beginning? Have you not understood the foundations of the earth?

22 [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:

He is the One who sits upon the globe of the earth, and its inhabitants are like locusts. He extends the heavens as if they were nothing, and he spreads them out like a tent, in which to dwell.

23 that bringeth princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

He has brought those who examine what is secret to nothingness. He has brought the judges of the earth to emptiness.

24 Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.

And certainly, their stalk was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the ground. He has suddenly blown across them, and they have withered, and a whirlwind will carry them away like chaff.

25 To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal [to him]? saith the Holy One.

“And to whom would you compare me or equate me?” says the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, 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 is lacking.

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things. He leads forth their army by number, and he calls them all by name. Because of the fullness of his strength and robustness and virtue, not one of them was left behind.

27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed away from my God?

Why do you say this, O Jacob, and why do you speak this way, O Israel? “My way has been hidden from the Lord, and my judgment escaped notice by my God.”

28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? 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.

Do you not know, or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, who has created the limits of the earth. He does not diminish, and he does not struggle. Neither is his wisdom searchable.

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

It is he who gives strength to the weary, and it is he who increases fortitude and strength in those who are failing.

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

Servants will struggle and fail, and young men will fall into infirmity.

31 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; they shall walk, and not faint.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.