Isaiah 40
1 My puple, be ye coumfortid, be ye coumfortid, seith youre Lord God.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, will your God say.
2 Speke ye to the herte of Jerusalem, and clepe ye it, for the malice therof is fillid, the wickidnesse therof is foryouun; it hath resseyued of the hond of the Lord double thingis for alle hise synnes.
Speake comfortably to Ierusalem, and crye vnto her, that her warrefare is accomplished, that her iniquitie is pardoned: for she hath receiued of the Lords hand double for all her sinnes.
3 The vois of a crier in desert, Make ye redi the weie of the Lord, make ye riytful the pathis of oure God in wildirnesse.
A voyce cryeth in the wildernesse, Prepare ye the way of the Lord: make streight in the desert a path for our God.
4 Ech valey schal be enhaunsid, and ech mounteyn and litil hil schal be maad low; and schrewid thingis schulen be in to streiyt thingis, and scharpe thingis schulen be in to pleyn weies.
Euery valley shall be exalted, and euery mountaine and hill shall be made lowe: and the crooked shalbe streight, and the rough places plaine.
5 And the glorie of the Lord schal be schewid, and ech man schal se togidere, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoke.
And the glory of the Lord shalbe reueiled, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
6 The vois of God, seiynge, Crie thou. And Y seide, What schal Y crie? Ech fleisch is hei, and al the glorie therof is as the flour of the feeld.
A voyce saide, Crie. And he saide, What shall I crie? All flesh is grasse, and all the grace thereof is as the floure of the fielde.
7 The hei is dried vp, and the flour felle doun, for the spirit of the Lord bleew therynne.
The grasse withereth, the floure fadeth, because the Spirite of the Lord bloweth vpon it: surely the people is grasse.
8 Verely the puple is hey; the hey is dried vp, and the flour felle doun; but the word of the Lord dwellith with outen ende.
The grasse withereth, the floure fadeth: but the worde of our God shall stand for euer.
9 Thou that prechist to Sion, stie on an hiy hil; thou that prechist to Jerusalem, enhaunse thi vois in strengthe; enhaunse thou, nyle thou drede; seie thou to the citees of Juda, Lo! youre God.
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee vp into the hie mountaine: O Ierusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift vp thy voyce with strength: lift it vp, be not afraide: say vnto the cities of Iudah, Beholde your God.
10 Lo! the Lord God schal come in strengthe, and his arm schal holde lordschipe; lo! his mede is with hym, and his werk is bifore hym.
Beholde, the Lord God will come with power, and his arme shall rule for him: beholde, his rewarde is with him, and his worke before him,
11 As a scheepherd he schal fede his flok, he schal gadere lambreen in his arm, and he schal reise in his bosom; he schal bere scheep `with lomb.
He shall feede his flocke like a shepheard: he shall gather the lambes with his arme, and cary them in his bosome, and shall guide them with young.
12 Who mat watris in a fist, and peiside heuenes with a spanne? Who peiside the heuynesse of the erthe with thre fyngris, and weide mounteyns in a weihe, and litle hillis in a balaunce?
Who hath measured the waters in his fist? and counted heauen with the spanne, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure? and weighed ye mountaines in a weight, and the hilles in a balance?
13 Who helpide the Spirit of the Lord, ether who was his councelour, and schewide to hym?
Who hath instructed ye Spirit of the Lord? or was his counseler or taught him?
14 With whom took he councel, and who lernyde hym, and tauyte hym the path of riytfulnesse, and lernyde hym in kunnyng, and schewyde to him the weie of prudence?
Of whom tooke he counsell, and who instructed him and taught him in the way of iudgement? or taught him knowledge, and shewed vnto him the way of vnderstanding?
15 Lo! folkis ben as a drope of a boket, and ben arettid as the tunge of a balaunce; lo!
Beholde, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the dust of the balance: beholde, he taketh away the yles as a litle dust.
16 ylis ben as a litil dust, and the Liban schal not suffice to brenne his sacrifice, and the beestis therof schulen not suffice to brent sacrifice.
And Lebanon is not sufficient for fire, nor the beastes thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 Alle folkis ben so bifore hym, as if thei ben not; and thei ben rettid as no thing and veyn thing to hym.
All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him, lesse then nothing, and vanitie.
18 To whom therfor maden ye God lijk? ether what ymage schulen ye sette to hym?
To whom then wil ye liken God? or what similitude will ye set vp vnto him?
19 Whether a smyth schal welle togidere an ymage, ether a gold smyth schal figure it in gold, and a worchere in siluer schal diyte it with platis of siluer?
The workeman melteth an image, or the goldsmith beateth it out in golde, or the goldesmith maketh siluer plates.
20 A wijs crafti man chees a strong tre, and vnable to be rotun; he sekith how he schal ordeyne a symylacre, that schal not be mouyd.
Doeth not the poore chuse out a tree that will not rot, for an oblation? he seeketh also vnto him a cunning workeman, to prepare an image, that shall not be moued.
21 Whether ye witen not? whether ye herden not? whether it was not teld to you fro the begynnynge? whether ye vndurstoden not the foundementis of erthe?
Know ye nothing? haue ye not heard it? hath it not bene tolde you from the beginning? haue ye not vnderstand it by the foundation of the earth?
22 Which sittith on the cumpas of erthe, and the dwelleris therof ben as locustis; which stretchith forth heuenes as nouyt, and spredith abrood tho as a tabernacle to dwelle.
He sitteth vpon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grashoppers, hee stretcheth out ye heauens, as a curtaine, and spreadeth them out, as a tent to dwell in.
23 Which yyueth the sercheris of priuytees, as if thei be not, and made the iugis of erthe as a veyn thing.
He bringeth the princes to nothing, and maketh the iudges of the earth, as vanitie,
24 And sotheli whanne the stok of hem is nether plauntid, nether is sowun, nether is rootid in erthe, he bleew sudenli on hem, and thei drieden vp, and a whirle wynd schal take hem awei as stobil.
As though they were not plated, as though they were not sowen, as though their stocke tooke no roote in the earth: for he did euen blow vpon them, and they withered, and the whirlewinde will take them away as stubble.
25 And to what thing `ye han licned me, and han maad euene? seith the hooli.
To whom nowe will ye liken me, that I should be like him, saith the Holy one?
26 Reise youre iyen an hiy, and se ye, who made these thingis of nouyt; which ledith out in noumbre the kniythod of tho, and clepith alle bi name, for the multitude of his strengthe, and stalworthnesse, and vertu; nether o residue thing was.
Lift vp your eyes on hie, and beholde who hath created these things, and bringeth out their armies by nomber, and calleth them all by names? by the greatnesse of his power and mightie strength nothing faileth.
27 Whi seist thou, Jacob, and spekist thou, Israel, My weie is hid fro the Lord, and my doom passide fro my God?
Why sayest thou, O Iaakob, and speakest O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my iudgement is passed ouer of my God?
28 Whether thou knowist not, ether herdist thou not? God, euerlastynge Lord, that made of nouyt the endis of erthe, schal not faile, nether schal trauele, nether enserchyng of his wisdom is.
Knowest thou not? or hast thou not heard, that the euerlasting God, the Lord hath created the endes of the earth? he neither fainteth, nor is wearie: there is no searching of his vnderstanding.
29 That yyueth vertu to the weeri, and strengthe to hem that ben not, and multiplieth stalworthnesse.
But he giueth strength vnto him that fainteth, and vnto him that hath no strength, he encreaseth power.
30 Children schulen faile, and schulen trauele, and yonge men schulen falle doun in her sikenesse.
Euen the yong men shall faint, and be wearie, and the yong men shall stumble and fall.
31 But thei that hopen in the Lord, schulen chaunge strengthe, thei schulen take fetheris as eglis; thei schulen renne, and schulen not trauele; thei schulen go, and schulen not faile.
But they that waite vpon the Lord, shall renue their strength: they shall lift vp the wings as the eagles: they shall runne, and not be wearie, and they shall walke and not faint.
