Isaiah 40
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Give comfort, give comfort, to my people, says your God.
2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry to her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received from the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
Say kind words to the heart of Jerusalem, crying out to her that her time of trouble is ended, that her punishment is complete; that she has been rewarded by the Lord's hand twice over for all her sins.
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
A voice of one crying, Make ready in the waste land the way of the Lord, make level in the lowland a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.
Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough places become level, and the hilltops become a valley,
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see [it]: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it].
And the glory of the Lord will be made clear, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has said it.
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh [is] grass, and all its goodliness [is] as the flower of the field:
A voice of one saying, Give a cry! And I said, What is my cry to be? All flesh is grass, and all its strength like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass.
The grass becomes dry, the flower is dead; because the breath of the Lord goes over it: truly the people is grass.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall shall stand forever.
The grass is dry, the flower is dead; but the word of our God is eternal.
9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, go up upon the high mountain: O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift [it] up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
You who give good news to Zion, get up into the high mountain; you who give good news to Jerusalem, let your voice be strong; let it be sounding without fear; say to the towns of Judah, See, your God!
10 Behold, the LORD GOD will come with strong [hand], and his arm will rule for him: behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him.
See, the Lord God will come as a strong one, ruling in power: see, those made free by him are with him, and those whom he has made safe go before him.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd: he will gather the lambs with his arm, and carry [them] in his bosom, [and] will gently lead those that are with young.
He will give food to his flock like a keeper of sheep; with his arm he will get it together, and will take up the lambs on his breast, gently guiding those which are with young.
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and measured heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
In the hollow of whose hand have the waters been measured? and who is able to take the heavens in his stretched-out fingers? who has got together the dust of the earth in a measure? who has taken the weight of the mountains, or put the hills into the scales?
13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counselor hath taught him?
By whom has the spirit of the Lord been guided, or who has been his teacher?
14 With whom took he counsel, and [who] instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?
Who gave him suggestions, and made clear to him the right way? who gave him knowledge, guiding him in the way of wisdom?
15 Behold, the nations [are] as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
See, the nations are to him like a drop hanging from a bucket, and like the small dust in the scales: he takes up the islands like small dust.
16 And Lebanon [is] not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts of it sufficient for a burnt-offering.
And Lebanon is not enough to make a fire with, or all its cattle enough for a burned offering.
17 All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
All the nations are as nothing before him; even less than nothing, a thing of no value.
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare to him?
Whom then is God like, in your opinion? or what will you put forward as a comparison with him?
19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
The workman makes an image, and the gold-worker puts gold plates over it, and makes silver bands for it.
20 He that [is] so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree [that] will not rot; he seeketh for himself a skillful workman to prepare a graven image [that] shall not be moved.
The wise workman makes selection of the mulberry-tree of the offering, a wood which will not become soft; so that the image may be fixed to it and not be moved.
21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Have you no knowledge of it? has it not come to your ears? has not news of it been given to you from the first? has it not been clear to you from the time when the earth was placed on its base?
22 [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
It is he who is seated over the arch of the earth, and the people in it are as small as locusts; by him the heavens are stretched out like an arch, and made ready like a tent for a living-place.
23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
He makes rulers come to nothing; the judges of the earth are of no value.
24 Yes, they shall not be planted; yes, they shall not be sown: yes, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
They have only now been planted, and their seed put into the earth, and they have only now taken root, when he sends out his breath over them and they become dry, and the storm-wind takes them away like dry grass.
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equaled? saith the Holy One.
Who then seems to you to be my equal? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things], that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names, by the greatness of his might, for that [he] is strong in power; not one faileth.
Let your eyes be lifted up on high, and see: who has made these? He who sends out their numbered army: who has knowledge of all their names: by whose great strength, because he is strong in power, all of them are in their places.
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over by my God?
Why do you say, O Jacob, such words as these, O Israel, The Lord's eyes are not on my way, and my God gives no attention to my cause?
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding.
Have you no knowledge of it? has it not come to your ears? The eternal God, the Lord, the Maker of the ends of the earth, is never feeble or tired; there is no searching out of his wisdom.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.
He gives power to the feeble, increasing the strength of him who has no force.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Even the young men will become feeble and tired, and the best of them will come to the end of his strength;
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.
But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness.
