Isaiæ 40
1 Consolamini, consolamini, popule meus, dicit Deus vester.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith 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 to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her time of suffering is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of Jehovah'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 one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, 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 raised up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places a plain.
5 et revelabitur gloria Domini, et videbit omnis caro pariter quod os Domini locutum est.
And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.
6 Vox dicentis: Clama. Et dixi: Quid clamabo? Omnis caro fœnum, et omnis gloria ejus quasi flos agri.
A voice saith, Cry. And he saith, What shall I cry? — All flesh is grass, and all the comeliness thereof as the flower of the field.
7 Exsiccatum est fœnum, et cecidit flos, quia spiritus Domini sufflavit in eo. Vere fœnum est populus:
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, for the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
8 exsiccatum est fœnum, et cecidit flos; verbum autem Domini nostri manet in æternum.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God abideth for ever.
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:
O Zion, that bringest glad tidings, get thee up into a high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest glad 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 ejus dominabitur: ecce merces ejus cum eo, et opus illius coram illo.
Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come with might, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompence before him.
11 Sicut pastor gregem suum pascet, in brachio suo congregabit agnos, et in sinu suo levabit; fœtas ipse portabit.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd: he will gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom; he will gently lead those that give suck.
12 Quis mensus est pugillo aquas, et cælos palmo ponderavit? quis appendit tribus digitis molem terræ, et libravit in pondere montes, et colles in statera?
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with [his] span, and grasped the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in scales?
13 Quis adjuvit spiritum Domini? aut quis consiliarius ejus fuit, et ostendit illi?
Who hath directed the Spirit of Jehovah, and, [as] his counsellor, hath taught him?
14 cum quo iniit consilium, et instruxit eum, et docuit eum semitam justitiæ, et erudivit eum scientiam, et viam prudentiæ ostendit illi?
With whom took he counsel, and [who] gave him intelligence, and instructed him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed 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 esteemed as a drop of the bucket, and as the fine dust on the scales; behold, he taketh up the isles as an atom.
16 Et Libanus non sufficiet ad succendendum, et animalia ejus 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 the nations are as nothing before him; they are esteemed by him less than a cipher, and vanity.
18 Cui ergo similem fecisti Deum? aut quam imaginem ponetis ei?
To whom then will ye liken God? and what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19 Numquid sculptile conflavit faber? aut aurifex auro figuravit illud, et laminis argenteis argentarius?
The workman casteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains [for it].
20 Forte lignum et imputribile elegit; artifex sapiens quærit quomodo statuat simulacrum, quod non moveatur.
He that is impoverished, so that he hath no offering, chooseth a tree that doth not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilled workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved.
21 Numquid non scitis? numquid non audistis? numquid non annuntiatum est vobis ab initio? numquid non intellexistis fundamenta terræ?
— Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood 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;
[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 gauze curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
23 qui dat secretorum scrutatores quasi non sint, judices terræ velut inane fecit.
that bringeth the princes to nothing, that 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.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely hath their stock taken root in the earth, but he also bloweth upon them and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh 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 ejus, neque unum reliquum fuit.
Lift up your eyes on high, and see! Who hath created these things, bringing out their host by number? He calleth them all by name; through the greatness of his might and strength of power, not one faileth.
27 Quare dicis, Jacob, et loqueris, Israël: Abscondita est via mea a Domino, et a Deo meo judicium meum transivit?
Why sayest thou, Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and my right is passed away from my God?
28 Numquid nescis, aut non audisti? Deus sempiternus Dominus, qui creavit terminos terræ: non deficiet, neque laborabit, nec est investigatio sapientiæ ejus.
Dost thou not know, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not nor tireth? 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 him that hath no might he increaseth strength.
30 Deficient pueri, et laborabunt, et juvenes in infirmitate cadent;
Even the youths shall faint and shall tire, and the young men shall stumble and 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 Jehovah shall renew [their] strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not tire; they shall walk, and not faint.
