Isaiah 40
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God.
Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, Saith your God.
2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her, That her warfare hath been completed, That accepted hath been her punishment, That she hath received from the hand of Jehovah Double for all her sins.
Speak ye encouragement to Jerusalem, and declare to her, That her hard service is ended; That her iniquity is expiated; That she hath received from the hand of Jehovah Double for all her sins.
3 A voice is crying — in a wilderness — Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, Make straight in a desert a highway to our God.
A voice crieth: “Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God!
4 Every valley is raised up, And every mountain and hill become low, And the crooked place hath become a plain, And the entangled places a valley.
Every valley shall be exalted, And every mountain and hill be made low; The crooked shall become straight, And the rough places plain.
5 And revealed hath been the honour of Jehovah, And seen [it] have all flesh together, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.
For the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it!”
6 A voice is saying, 'Call,' And he said, 'What do I call?' All flesh [is] grass, and all its goodliness [is] As a flower of the field:
A voice said, Proclaim! And I said, What shall I proclaim? All flesh is grass, And all its comeliness as the flower of the field.
7 Withered hath grass, faded the flower, For the Spirit of Jehovah blew upon it, Surely the people [is] grass;
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, When the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it. Truly the people is grass.
8 Withered hath grass, faded the flower, But a word of our God riseth for ever.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, But the word of our God shall stand forever.
9 On a high mountain get thee up, O Zion, Proclaiming tidings, Lift up with power thy voice, O Jerusalem, proclaiming tidings, Lift up, fear not, say to cities of Judah, 'Lo, your God.'
Get thee up on the high mountain, O thou that bringest glad tidings to Zion; Lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest glad tidings to Jerusalem; Lift it up; be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10 Lo, the Lord Jehovah with strength cometh, And His arm is ruling for Him, Lo, His hire [is] with Him, and His wage before Him.
Behold, the Lord Jehovah shall come with might, And his arm shall rule for him; Behold, his reward is with him, And his recompense before him.
11 As a shepherd His flock He feedeth, With His arm He gathereth lambs, And in His bosom He carrieth [them]: Suckling ones He leadeth.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather up the lambs in his arms, And carry them in his bosom, And gently lead the nursing ewes.
12 Who hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters? And the heavens by a span hath meted out, And comprehended in a measure the dust of the earth, And hath weighed in scales the mountains, And the hills in a balance?
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, And meted out the heavens with his span, And gathered the dust of the earth into a measure, And weighed the mountains in scales, And the hills in a balance?
13 Who hath meted out the Spirit of Jehovah, And, [being] His counsellor, doth teach Him!
Who hath searched out the spirit of Jehovah, Or, being his counsellor, hath taught him?
14 With whom consulted He, That he causeth Him to understand? And teacheth Him in the path of judgment, And teacheth Him knowledge? And the way of understanding causeth Him to know?
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, And taught him the path of justice, And taught him knowledge, And showed him the way of understanding?
15 Lo, nations as a drop from a bucket, And as small dust of the balance, have been reckoned, Lo, isles as a small thing He taketh up.
Behold, the nations are as a drop from a bucket, And are accounted as the small dust of the balance; Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing,
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt-offering.
And Lebanon is not sufficient for fire, Nor its beasts for a burnt-offering.
17 All the nations [are] as nothing before Him, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him.
All the nations are as nothing before him; They are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
18 And unto whom do ye liken God, And what likeness do ye compare to Him?
To whom then will ye liken God, And what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19 The graven image poured out hath a artisan, And a refiner with gold spreadeth it over, And chains of silver he is refining.
The workman casteth an image, And the smith overlayeth it with gold, And casteth for it silver chains.
20 He who is poor [by] heave-offerings, A tree not rotten doth choose, A skilful artisan he seeketh for it, To establish a graven image — not moved.
He that is too poor to make an oblation Chooseth a piece of wood that will not rot; He seeketh for himself a skilful artificer, To prepare an image that shall not be moved.
21 Do ye not know — do ye not hear? Hath it not been declared from the first to you? Have ye not understood [From] the foundations of the earth?
Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have ye not considered the foundations of the earth?
22 He who is sitting on the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants [are] as grasshoppers, He who is stretching out as a thin thing the heavens, And spreadeth them as a tent to dwell in.
It is He that sitteth above the circle of the earth, And the inhabitants are to him as grasshoppers; That stretcheth out the heavens as a canopy, And spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
23 He who is making princes become nothing, Judges of earth as emptiness hath made;
That bringeth princes to nothing, And reduceth the rulers of the earth to vanity.
24 Yea, they have not been planted, Yea, they have not been sown, Yea, not taking root in the earth is their stock, And also He hath blown upon them, and they wither, And a whirlwind as stubble taketh them away.
Yea, scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, Scarcely hath their stem taken root in the ground, When He bloweth upon them and they wither, And the whirlwind beareth them away like stubble.
25 And unto whom do ye liken Me, And [am] I equal? saith the Holy One.
To whom then will ye liken me, And to whom shall I be compared? Saith the Holy One.
26 Lift up on high your eyes, And see — who hath prepared these? He who is bringing out by number their host, To all of them by name He calleth, By abundance of strength (And [he is] strong in power) not one is lacking.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and behold! Who hath created these? He draweth forth their host by number, He calleth them all by name; Through the greatness of his strength and the mightiness of his power, Not one of them faileth to appear.
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob? and speakest thou, O Israel? 'My way hath been hid from Jehovah, And from my God my judgment passeth over.'
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, “My way is hidden from Jehovah, My cause passeth by before my God”?
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? The God of the age — Jehovah, Preparer of the ends of the earth, Is not wearied nor fatigued, There is no searching of His understanding.
Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Jehovah is an everlasting God, The creator of the ends of the earth; He fainteth not, nor is he weary; His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He is giving power to the weary, And to those not strong He increaseth might.
He giveth power to the faint; To the feeble abundant strength.
30 Even youths are wearied and fatigued, And young men utterly stumble,
The youths shall faint and be weary, And the young warriors shall utterly fall.
31 But those expecting Jehovah pass [to] power, They raise up the pinion as eagles, They run and are not fatigued, They go on and do not faint!
But they that trust in Jehovah shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles; They shall run and not be weary; They shall walk and not faint.
