Isaiah 40
1 My puple, be ye coumfortid, be ye coumfortid, seith youre Lord God.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
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.
Speak ye [comfort] to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out unto her, that her time of sorrow is accomplished, that her iniquity is atoned for; for she hath received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.
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 voice calleth out, In the wilderness make ye clear the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for 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.
Every valley shall be raised, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made a straight path, and the rough places a plain:
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 shall be revealed; 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 voice saith, Proclaim; and he saith, What shall I proclaim? all flesh is grass, and all its goodliness is as the flower of the field:
7 The hei is dried vp, and the flour felle doun, for the spirit of the Lord bleew therynne.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the Lord hath blown upon it; surely the people is grass.
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 grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God will stand firm for ever.
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.
Upon a high mountain get thee up, thou that bringest good tidings to Zion; lift up with strength thy voice, thou who bringest good tidings to Jerusalem; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, [here is] 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.
Behold, the Lord Eternal will come with might, and his arm ruleth for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense 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.
Like a shepherd will he feed his flock: with his arm will he gather the lambs, and in his bosom will he carry them, will he lead gently those that suckle their 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 in the hollow of his hand the waters, and meted out the heavens with the span, and comprised in a measure the dust of the earth, and weighed in the scale-beam the mountains, and the hills in balances?
13 Who helpide the Spirit of the Lord, ether who was his councelour, and schewide to hym?
Who hath meted out the Spirit of the Lord? and [who was] his counsellor that he could have given him information?
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?
With whom took he counsel, that he gave him understanding, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and caused him to know the way of understanding?
15 Lo! folkis ben as a drope of a boket, and ben arettid as the tunge of a balaunce; lo!
Behold, nations are as a drop out of a bucket, and as the small dust of the balance are they accounted: behold, isles are like the flying 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 burning, and its beasts do not suffice for 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 the nations are as naught before him; less than nothing, and vanity are they accounted to him.
18 To whom therfor maden ye God lijk? ether what ymage schulen ye sette to hym?
To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto 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 graven image the artificer hath cast and the goldsmith hath overspread it with gold, and fabricated [on it] silver chains.
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.
He that is skilled in the choice chooseth a wood that will not rot; he seeketh unto himself a skilful workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
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 not? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not paid attention to the foundations 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.
[It is he] that dwelleth above the circle of the earth, while its inhabitants are as grasshoppers; that stretched out the heavens as a curtain, 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.
That bringeth princes to naught; rendering the judges of the earth as vanity.
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.
Yes, they were not yet planted; yea, they were not yet sown; yea, their stem had not yet taken root in the earth: when he but breathed upon them, and they withered, and the storm-wind carrieth them away as stubble.
25 And to what thing `ye han licned me, and han maad euene? seith the hooli.
To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to? 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 up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these? he that bringeth out their host by number; that calleth them all by name; from the Mighty One not one escapeth.
27 Whi seist thou, Jacob, and spekist thou, Israel, My weie is hid fro the Lord, and my doom passide fro my God?
Why wilt thou say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, and my cause hath passed from the cognizance 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.
Dost thou not know? hast thou not heard? The God of everlasting is the Lord, is the Creator of the ends of the earth; he will not be faint and weary; unsearchable is his understanding.
29 That yyueth vertu to the weeri, and strengthe to hem that ben not, and multiplieth stalworthnesse.
He giveth to the faint strength; and to the powerless he imparteth much might.
30 Children schulen faile, and schulen trauele, and yonge men schulen falle doun in her sikenesse.
Though youths should grow faint and be weary, and young men should utterly stumble:
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.
Yet they that wait upon the Lord shall acquire new strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk, and not become faint.
