Isaiah 40
1 Our God says, “Encourage my people! Encourage them!
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2 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.”
Speak ye [comfort] to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out unto her, that her time of sorrow is accomplished, that her iniquity is atoned for; for she hath received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.
3 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]).
A voice calleth out, In the wilderness make ye clear the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for God.
4 Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and every mountain. Make the uneven ground smooth, and make the rough places smooth.
Every valley shall be raised, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made a straight path, and the rough places a plain:
5 [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.”
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 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.
A voice saith, Proclaim; and he saith, What shall I proclaim? all flesh is grass, and all its goodliness is as the flower of the field:
7 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.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the Lord hath blown upon it; surely the people is grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers dry up, but what our God promises will last forever.”
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God will stand firm for ever.
9 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!”
Upon a high mountain get thee up, thou that bringest good tidings to Zion; lift up with strength thy voice, thou who bringest good tidings to Jerusalem; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, [here is] your God!
10 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].
Behold, the Lord Eternal will come with might, and his arm ruleth for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
11 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.
Like a shepherd will he feed his flock: with his arm will he gather the lambs, and in his bosom will he carry them, will he lead gently those that suckle their young.
12 [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]
Who hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters, and meted out the heavens with the span, and comprised in a measure the dust of the earth, and weighed in the scale-beam the mountains, and the hills in balances?
13 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]
Who hath meted out the Spirit of the Lord? and [who was] his counsellor that he could have given him information?
14 (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]
With whom took he counsel, that he gave him understanding, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and caused him to know the way of understanding?
15 [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.
Behold, nations are as a drop out of a bucket, and as the small dust of the balance are they accounted: behold, isles are like the flying dust.
16 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.
And Lebanon is not sufficient for burning, and its beasts do not suffice for burnt-offering.
17 The nations of the world are completely insignificant/unimportant to him; he considers that they are worthless and less than nothing [HYP, DOU].
All the nations are as naught before him; less than nothing, and vanity are they accounted to him.
18 So, to whom can you compare God? What image resembles him?
To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19 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?
The graven image the artificer hath cast and the goldsmith hath overspread it with gold, and fabricated [on it] silver chains.
20 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!
He that is skilled in the choice chooseth a wood that will not rot; he seeketh unto himself a skilful workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
21 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?
Know ye not? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not paid attention to the foundations of the earth?
22 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.
[It is he] that dwelleth above the circle of the earth, while its inhabitants are as grasshoppers; that stretched out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
23 He causes kings to have no more power, and he causes the rulers to be worth nothing.
That bringeth princes to naught; rendering the judges of the earth as vanity.
24 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.
Yes, they were not yet planted; yea, they were not yet sown; yea, their stem had not yet taken root in the earth: when he but breathed upon them, and they withered, and the storm-wind carrieth them away as stubble.
25 The Holy One asks, “To whom will you compare me? Is anyone equal to me?”
To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to? saith the Holy One.
26 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].
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these? he that bringeth out their host by number; that calleth them all by name; from the Mighty One not one escapeth.
27 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?
Why wilt thou say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, and my cause hath passed from the cognizance of my God?
28 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.
Dost thou not know? hast thou not heard? The God of everlasting is the Lord, is the Creator of the ends of the earth; he will not be faint and weary; unsearchable is his understanding.
29 He strengthens [DOU] those who feel weak and tired.
He giveth to the faint strength; and to the powerless he imparteth much might.
30 Even youths become faint and weary, and young men will fall when they are exhausted.
Though youths should grow faint and be weary, and young men should utterly stumble:
31 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.
Yet they that wait upon the Lord shall acquire new strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk, and not become faint.
