Isaiah 40
1 to be sorry: comfort to be sorry: comfort people my to say God your
Our God says, “Encourage my people! Encourage them!
2 to speak: speak upon heart Jerusalem and to call: call to to(wards) her for to fill army: war her for to accept iniquity: crime her for to take: recieve from hand LORD double in/on/with all sin her
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 voice to call: call out in/on/with wilderness to turn way: road LORD to smooth in/on/with plain highway to/for God our
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 all valley to lift: raise and all mountain: mount and hill to abase and to be [the] steep to/for plain and [the] roughness to/for valley
Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and every mountain. Make the uneven ground smooth, and make the rough places smooth.
5 and to reveal: reveal glory LORD and to see: see all flesh together for lip LORD to speak: speak
[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 voice to say to call: call out and to say what? to call: call out all [the] flesh grass and all kindness his like/as flower [the] land: country
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 to wither grass to wither flower for spirit: breath LORD to blow in/on/with him surely grass [the] people
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 to wither grass to wither flower and word God our to arise: establish to/for forever: enduring
The grass withers and the flowers dry up, but what our God promises will last forever.”
9 upon mountain: mount high to ascend: rise to/for you to bear tidings Zion to exalt in/on/with strength voice your to bear tidings Jerusalem to exalt not to fear to say to/for city Judah behold God your
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/God in/on/with strong to come (in): come and arm his to rule to/for him behold wages his with him and wages his to/for face: before his
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 like/as to pasture flock his to pasture in/on/with arm his to gather lamb and in/on/with bosom: embrace his to lift: bear to nurse to guide
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? to measure in/on/with handful his water and heaven in/on/with span to measure and to sustain in/on/with third dust [the] land: country/planet and to weigh in/on/with balance mountain: mount and hill in/on/with 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? to measure [obj] spirit LORD and man counsel his to know 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 who? to advise and to understand him and to learn: teach him in/on/with way justice and to learn: teach him knowledge and way: conduct understanding to know him
(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 look! nation like/as drop from bucket and like/as cloud balance to devise: count look! coastland like/as thin to lift
[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 nothing sufficiency to burn: burn and living thing his nothing sufficiency 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] nation like/as nothing before him from end and formlessness to devise: count to/for 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(wards) who? to resemble [emph?] God and what? likeness to arrange to/for him
So, to whom can you compare God? What image resembles him?
19 [the] idol to pour artificer and to refine in/on/with gold to beat him and chain silver: money to refine
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 [the] to impoverish contribution tree: wood not to rot to choose artificer wise to seek to/for him to/for to establish: establish idol not to shake
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 not to know not to hear: hear not to tell from head: first to/for you not to understand foundation [the] land: country/planet
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 [the] to dwell upon circle [the] land: country/planet and to dwell her like/as locust [the] to stretch like/as curtain heaven and to spread them like/as tent to/for to dwell
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 [the] to give: make to rule to/for nothing to judge land: country/planet like/as formlessness to make
He causes kings to have no more power, and he causes the rulers to be worth nothing.
24 also not to plant also not to sow also not to uproot in/on/with land: country/planet stock their and also to blow in/on/with them and to wither and tempest like/as stubble to lift: bear them
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(wards) who? to resemble me and be like to say holy
The Holy One asks, “To whom will you compare me? Is anyone equal to me?”
26 to lift: look height eye your and to see: see who? to create these [the] to come out: send in/on/with number army their to/for all their in/on/with name to call: call to from abundance strength and strong strength man not to lack
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 to/for what? to say Jacob and to speak: speak Israel to hide way: conduct my from LORD and from God my justice my to pass
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 not to know if: surely no not to hear: hear God forever: enduring LORD to create end [the] land: country/planet not to faint and not be weary/toil nothing search to/for understanding his
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 to give: give to/for weary strength and to/for nothing strength strength to multiply
He strengthens [DOU] those who feel weak and tired.
30 and to faint youth and be weary/toil and youth to stumble to stumble
Even youths become faint and weary, and young men will fall when they are exhausted.
31 and to await LORD to pass strength to ascend: rise wing like/as eagle to run: run and not be weary/toil to go: walk and not to 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.
