Isaiæ 40
1 [Consolamini, consolamini, popule meus, dicit Deus vester.
“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
2 Loquimini ad cor Jerusalem, et advocate eam, quoniam completa est malitia ejus, dimissa est iniquitas illius: suscepit de manu Domini duplicia pro omnibus peccatis suis.
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”
3 Vox clamantis in deserto: Parate viam Domini, rectas facite in solitudine semitas Dei nostri.
A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
4 Omnis vallis exaltabitur, et omnis mons et collis humiliabitur, et erunt prava in directa, et aspera in vias planas:
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.
5 et revelabitur gloria Domini, et videbit omnis caro pariter quod os Domini locutum est.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.
6 Vox dicentis: Clama. Et dixi: Quid clamabo? Omnis caro fœnum, et omnis gloria ejus quasi flos agri.
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
7 Exsiccatum est fœnum, et cecidit flos, quia spiritus Domini sufflavit in eo. Vere fœnum est populus:
The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.
8 exsiccatum est fœnum, et cecidit flos; verbum autem Domini nostri manet in æternum.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
9 Super montem excelsum ascende, tu qui evangelizas Sion; exalta in fortitudine vocem tuam, qui evangelizas Jerusalem: exalta, noli timere. Dic civitatibus Juda: Ecce Deus vester:
Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
10 ecce Dominus Deus in fortitudine veniet, et brachium ejus dominabitur: ecce merces ejus cum eo, et opus illius coram illo.
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.
11 Sicut pastor gregem suum pascet, in brachio suo congregabit agnos, et in sinu suo levabit; fœtas ipse portabit.
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
12 Quis mensus est pugillo aquas, et cælos palmo ponderavit? quis appendit tribus digitis molem terræ, et liberavit in pondere montes, et colles in statera?
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?
13 Quis adjuvit spiritum Domini? aut quis consiliarius ejus fuit, et ostendit illi?
Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor?
14 cum quo iniit consilium, et instruxit eum, et docuit eum semitam justitiæ, et erudivit eum scientiam, et viam prudentiæ ostendit illi?
Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding?
15 Ecce gentes quasi stilla situlæ, et quasi momentum stateræ reputatæ sunt; ecce insulæ quasi pulvis exiguus.
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
16 Et Libanus non sufficiet ad succendendum, et animalia ejus non sufficient ad holocaustum.
Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.
17 Omnes gentes quasi non sint, sic sunt coram eo, et quasi nihilum et inane reputatæ sunt ei.]
All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
18 [Cui ergo similem fecisti Deum? aut quam imaginem ponetis ei?
To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?
19 Numquid sculptile conflavit faber? aut aurifex auro figuravit illud, et laminis argenteis argentarius?
To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?
20 Forte lignum et imputribile elegit; artifex sapiens quærit quomodo statuat simulacrum, quod non moveatur.
To one bereft of an offering who chooses wood that will not rot, who seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple?
21 Numquid non scitis? numquid non audistis? numquid non annuntiatum est vobis ab initio? numquid non intellexistis fundamenta terræ?
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?
22 Qui sedet super gyrum terræ, et habitatores ejus sunt quasi locustæ; qui extendit velut nihilum cælos, et expandit eos sicut tabernaculum ad inhabitandum;
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 qui dat secretorum scrutatores quasi non sint, judices terræ velut inane fecit.
He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.
24 Et quidem neque plantatus, neque satus, neque radicatus in terra truncus eorum; repente flavit in eos, et aruerunt, et turbo quasi stipulam auferet eos.
No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.
25 Et cui assimilastis me, et adæquastis? dicit Sanctus.
“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Levate in excelsum oculos vestros, et videte quis creavit hæc: qui educit in numero militiam eorum, et omnes ex nomine vocat; præ multitudine fortitudinis et roboris, virtutisque ejus, neque unum reliquum fuit.
Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
27 Quare dicis, Jacob, et loqueris, Israël: Abscondita est via mea a Domino, et a Deo meo judicium meum transivit?
Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”?
28 Numquid nescis, aut non audisti? Deus sempiternus Dominus, qui creavit terminos terræ: non deficiet, neque laborabit, nec est investigatio sapientiæ ejus.
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.
29 Qui dat lasso virtutem, et his qui non sunt, fortitudinem et robur multiplicat.
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
30 Deficient pueri, et laborabunt, et juvenes in infirmitate cadent;
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
31 qui autem sperant in Domino mutabunt fortitudinem, assument pennas sicut aquilæ: current et non laborabunt, ambulabunt et non deficient.]
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
