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 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 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 of one crying!—In the desert, prepare ye the way of Yahweh, —Make smooth in the waste plain a highway for our God:
4 Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and every mountain. Make the uneven ground smooth, and make the rough places smooth.
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 [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.”
Then shall be revealed the glory of Yahweh, —And all flesh shall see it together, For, the mouth of Yahweh, hath spoken!
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 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 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 hath withered The flower hath faded, Because, the breath of Yahweh, 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, hath withered, The flower, hath faded, —But the word of our God, shall stand unto times age-abiding!
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!”
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 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].
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 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, 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 [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, 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 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 proved the spirit of Yahweh? Or being his counsellor hath been giving him knowledge?
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 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 [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.
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 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 to burn, —Nor, the beasts thereof sufficient for an ascending-sacrifice!
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 nations, are as nothing before him, —A thing of nought or a waste, are they accounted unto him?
18 So, to whom can you compare God? What image resembles him?
Unto whom then can ye liken GOD? Or, what likeness, can 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 image, hath been cast by an artificer, And a goldsmith, with gold, overlayeth it, —And, chains of silver, he worketh.
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!
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 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?
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 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 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 He causes kings to have no more power, and he causes the rulers to be worth nothing.
Who delivereth dignitaries to nothingness, —Judges of earth, like a desolation, hath he made:
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.
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 The Holy One asks, “To whom will you compare me? Is anyone equal to me?”
Unto whom then, can ye liken me, or can I be equal? 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 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 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?
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 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.
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 strengthens [DOU] those who feel weak and tired.
Giving to him that fainteth, strength, And to him that hath no vigour, he causeth, power to abound?
30 Even youths become faint and weary, and young men will fall when they are exhausted.
Youths both faint and grow weary, And, young warriors—they fall, they fall;
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.
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.
