ישעה 40
| נחמו נחמו עמי--יאמר אלהיכם | 1 |
Our God says, “Encourage my people! Encourage them!
| דברו על לב ירושלם וקראו אליה--כי מלאה צבאה כי נרצה עונה כי לקחה מיד יהוה כפלים בכל חטאתיה | 2 |
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.”
| קול קורא--במדבר פנו דרך יהוה ישרו בערבה מסלה לאלהינו | 3 |
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]).
| כל גיא ינשא וכל הר וגבעה ישפלו והיה העקב למישור והרכסים לבקעה | 4 |
Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and every mountain. Make the uneven ground smooth, and make the rough places smooth.
| ונגלה כבוד יהוה וראו כל בשר יחדו כי פי יהוה דבר | 5 |
[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.”
| קול אמר קרא ואמר מה אקרא כל הבשר חציר וכל חסדו כציץ השדה | 6 |
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.
| יבש חציר נבל ציץ כי רוח יהוה נשבה בו אכן חציר העם | 7 |
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.
| יבש חציר נבל ציץ ודבר אלהינו יקום לעולם | 8 |
The grass withers and the flowers dry up, but what our God promises will last forever.”
| על הר גבה עלי לך מבשרת ציון הרימי בכח קולך מבשרת ירושלם הרימי אל תיראי אמרי לערי יהודה הנה אלהיכם | 9 |
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!”
| הנה אדני יהוה בחזק יבוא וזרעו משלה לו הנה שכרו אתו ופעלתו לפניו | 10 |
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].
| כרעה עדרו ירעה בזרעו יקבץ טלאים ובחיקו ישא עלות ינהל | 11 |
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.
| מי מדד בשעלו מים ושמים בזרת תכן וכל בשלש עפר הארץ ושקל בפלס הרים וגבעות במאזנים | 12 |
[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]
| מי תכן את רוח יהוה ואיש עצתו יודיענו | 13 |
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]
| את מי נועץ ויבינהו וילמדהו בארח משפט וילמדהו דעת ודרך תבונות יודיענו | 14 |
(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]
| הן גוים כמר מדלי וכשחק מאזנים נחשבו הן איים כדק יטול | 15 |
[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.
| ולבנון אין די בער וחיתו--אין די עולה | 16 |
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.
| כל הגוים כאין נגדו מאפס ותהו נחשבו לו | 17 |
The nations of the world are completely insignificant/unimportant to him; he considers that they are worthless and less than nothing [HYP, DOU].
| ואל מי תדמיון אל ומה דמות תערכו לו | 18 |
So, to whom can you compare God? What image resembles him?
| הפסל נסך חרש וצרף בזהב ירקענו ורתקות כסף צורף | 19 |
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?
| המסכן תרומה עץ לא ירקב יבחר חרש חכם יבקש לו להכין פסל לא ימוט | 20 |
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!
| הלוא תדעו הלוא תשמעו הלוא הגד מראש לכם הלוא הבינותם מוסדות הארץ | 21 |
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?
| הישב על חוג הארץ וישביה כחגבים הנוטה כדק שמים וימתחם כאהל לשבת | 22 |
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.
| הנותן רוזנים לאין שפטי ארץ כתהו עשה | 23 |
He causes kings to have no more power, and he causes the rulers to be worth nothing.
| אף בל נטעו אף בל זרעו--אף בל שרש בארץ גזעם וגם נשף בהם ויבשו וסערה כקש תשאם | 24 |
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.
| ואל מי תדמיוני ואשוה--יאמר קדוש | 25 |
The Holy One asks, “To whom will you compare me? Is anyone equal to me?”
| שאו מרום עיניכם וראו מי ברא אלה המוציא במספר צבאם לכלם בשם יקרא מרב אונים ואמיץ כח איש לא נעדר | 26 |
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].
| למה תאמר יעקב ותדבר ישראל נסתרה דרכי מיהוה ומאלהי משפטי יעבור | 27 |
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?
| הלוא ידעת אם לא שמעת אלהי עולם יהוה בורא קצות הארץ--לא ייעף ולא ייגע אין חקר לתבונתו | 28 |
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.
| נתן ליעף כח ולאין אונים עצמה ירבה | 29 |
He strengthens [DOU] those who feel weak and tired.
| ויעפו נערים ויגעו ובחורים כשול יכשלו | 30 |
Even youths become faint and weary, and young men will fall when they are exhausted.
| וקוי יהוה יחליפו כח יעלו אבר כנשרים ירוצו ולא ייגעו ילכו ולא ייעפו | 31 |
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.
