Isaiah 40
1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
Our God says, “Encourage my people! Encourage them!
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 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 A voice cries out, “In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh; make straight in the Arabah a highway for our God.”
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 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;
Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and every mountain. Make the uneven ground smooth, and make the rough places smooth.
5 and the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all people will see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.
[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 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.
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 The grass withers and the flower wilts when the breath of Yahweh blows on it; surely humanity is grass.
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 The grass withers, the flower wilts, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
The grass withers and the flowers dry up, but what our God promises will last forever.”
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!”
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 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.
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 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.
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 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?
[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 has comprehended the mind of Yahweh, or instructed him as his counselor?
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 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?
(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, 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.
[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 Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor its wild animals sufficient for a 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 nations are insufficient before him; they are regarded by him as nothing.
The nations of the world are completely insignificant/unimportant to him; he considers that they are worthless and less than nothing [HYP, DOU].
18 To whom then will you compare God? To what idol will you liken him?
So, to whom can you compare God? What image resembles him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it: The goldsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it.
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 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.
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 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 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 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.
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 He reduces rulers to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth insignificant.
He causes kings to have no more power, and he causes the rulers to be worth nothing.
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.
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 “To whom then will you compare me, whom do I resemble?” says the Holy One.
The Holy One asks, “To whom will you compare me? Is anyone equal to me?”
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.
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 Why do you say, Jacob, and declare, Israel, “My way is hidden from Yahweh, and my God is not concerned about my vindication”?
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 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.
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 He gives strength to the tired; and to the weak he gives renewed energy.
He strengthens [DOU] those who feel weak and tired.
30 Even young people become tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall:
Even youths become faint and weary, and young men will fall when they are exhausted.
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 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.
