Isaiah 40
1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
Comfort ye—comfort ye my people, —Saith your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem; and proclaim to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received double from Yahweh's hand 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 cries out, “In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh; make straight in the Arabah 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 will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; and the rugged land will be made level, and the rough places a 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 and the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all people will see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has 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 says, “Cry.” Another answers, “What should I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all their covenant faithfulness is like 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 withers and the flower wilts when the breath of Yahweh blows on it; surely humanity 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 withers, the flower wilts, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
The grass, hath withered, The flower, hath faded, —But the word of our God, shall stand unto times age-abiding!
9 Go up on a high mountain, Zion, bearer of good news. Shout out loud, Jerusalem. You who bring good news, raise your voice, do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is 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 Look, the Lord Yahweh comes as a victorious warrior, and his strong arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and those he has rescued go 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 will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather in his arm the lambs, and carry them close to his heart, and will gently lead the ewes nursing their young.
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 has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, measured the sky with the span of his hand, held the dust of the earth in a basket, weighed the mountains in scales, or 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 has comprehended the mind of Yahweh, or instructed him as his counselor?
Who hath proved the spirit of Yahweh? Or being his counsellor hath been giving him knowledge?
14 From whom did he ever receive instruction? Who taught him the correct way to do things, and taught him knowledge, or showed to 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 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded like the dust on the scales; see, he weighs the isles as a speck.
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 Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor its wild animals sufficient 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 insufficient before him; they are regarded by him as nothing.
All nations, are as nothing before him, —A thing of nought or a waste, are they accounted unto him?
18 To whom then will you compare God? To what idol will you liken him?
Unto whom then can ye liken GOD? Or, what likeness, can ye compare unto him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it: The goldsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it.
The image, hath been cast by an artificer, And a goldsmith, with gold, overlayeth it, —And, chains of silver, he worketh.
20 To make an offering one chooses a wood that will not rot; he seeks a skillful artisan to make an idol that will not fall over.
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 not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from 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 He is the one who sits above the horizon of the earth; and the inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out as a tent 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 reduces rulers to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth insignificant.
Who delivereth dignitaries to nothingness, —Judges of earth, like a desolation, hath he made:
24 They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem has barely taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them and they wither, and the wind carries them away like straw.
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 you compare me, whom do I resemble?” says the Holy One.
Unto whom then, can ye liken me, or can I be equal? Saith the Holy One.
26 Look up at the sky! Who has created all these stars? He leads out their formations and calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might and by the strength of his power, not one is missing.
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 do you say, Jacob, and declare, Israel, “My way is hidden from Yahweh, and my God is not concerned about my vindication”?
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 not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his understanding.
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 gives strength to the tired; and to the weak he gives renewed energy.
Giving to him that fainteth, strength, And to him that hath no vigour, he causeth, power to abound?
30 Even young people become tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall:
Youths both faint and grow weary, And, young warriors—they fall, they fall;
31 but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength; they will soar with wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary; they will 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.
