Isaiæ 40
1 Consolamini, consolamini popule meus, dicit Deus vester.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2 Loquimini ad cor Ierusalem, et advocate eam: quoniam completa est malitia eius, dimissa est iniquitas illius: suscepit de manu Domini duplicia pro omnibus peccatis suis.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of Yhwh's hand double for all her sins.
3 Vox clamantis in deserto: Parate viam Domini, rectas facite in solitudine semitas Dei nostri.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Yhwh, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Omnis vallis exaltabitur, et omnis mons et collis humiliabitur, et erunt prava in directa, et aspera in vias planas.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
5 Et revelabitur gloria Domini, et videbit omnis caro pariter quod os Domini locutum est.
And the glory of Yhwh shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of Yhwh hath spoken it.
6 Vox dicentis: Clama. Et dixi: Quid clamabo? Omnis caro fœnum, et omnis gloria eius quasi flos agri.
The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
7 Exiccatum est fœnum, et cecidit flos, quia spiritus Domini sufflavit in eo. Vere fœnum est populus:
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of Yhwh bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
8 exiccatum est fœnum, et cecidit flos: Verbum autem Domini nostri manet in æternum.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
9 Super montem excelsum ascende, tu qui evangelizas Sion: exalta in fortitudine vocem tuam, qui evangelizas Ierusalem: exalta, noli timere. Dic civitatibus Iuda: Ecce Deus vester:
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10 ecce Dominus Deus in fortitudine veniet, et brachium eius dominabitur: ecce merces eius cum eo, et opus illius coram illo.
Behold, the Lord Yhwh will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
11 Sicut pastor gregem suum pascet: in brachio suo congregabit agnos, et in sinu suo levabit, fœtas ipse portabit.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
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 hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13 Quis adiuvit spiritum Domini? Aut quis consiliarius eius fuit, et ostendit illi?
Who hath directed the Spirit of Yhwh, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
14 Cum quo iniit consilium? Et instruxit eum, et docuit eum semitam iustitiæ, et erudivit eum scientiam, et viam prudentiæ ostendit illi?
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
15 Ecce gentes quasi stilla situlæ, et quasi momentum stateræ reputatæ sunt: ecce insulæ quasi pulvis exiguus.
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
16 Et Libanus non sufficiet ad succendendum, et animalia eius non sufficient ad holocaustum.
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 Omnes gentes quasi non sint, sic sunt coram eo, et quasi nihilum et inane reputatæ sunt ei.
All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
18 Cui ergo similem fecisti Deum? Aut quam imaginem ponetis ei?
To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19 Numquid sculptile conflavit faber? Aut aurifex auro figuravit illud, et laminis argenteis argentarius?
The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
20 Forte lignum, et imputribile elegit: artifex sapiens quærit quomodo statuat simulacrum, quod non moveatur.
He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
21 Numquid non scitis? Numquid non audistis? Numquid non annunciatum est vobis ab initio? Numquid non intellexistis fundamenta terræ?
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 Qui sedet super gyrum terræ, et habitatores eius sunt quasi locustæ: qui extendit velut nihilum cælos, et expandit eos sicut tabernaculum ad inhabitandum.
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
23 Qui dat secretorum scrutatores quasi non sint, iudices terræ velut inane fecit:
That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
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.
Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
25 Et cui assimilastis me, et adæquastis, dicit Sanctus?
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith 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 eius, neque unum reliquum fuit.
Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
27 Quare dicis Iacob, et loqueris Israel: Abscondita est via mea a Domino, et a Deo meo iudicium meum transivit?
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Yhwh, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28 Numquid nescis, aut non audisti? Deus sempiternus Dominus, qui creavit terminos terræ: non deficiet, neque laborabit, nec est investigatio sapientiæ eius.
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, Yhwh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 Qui dat lasso virtutem: et his, qui non sunt, fortitudinem et robur multiplicat.
He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Deficient pueri, et laborabunt, et iuvenes in infirmitate cadent.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 Qui autem sperant in Domino, mutabunt fortitudinem, assument pennas sicut aquilæ, current et non laborabunt, ambulabunt et non deficient.
But they that wait upon Yhwh shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
