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.
Bid Jerusalem take heart, and proclaim unto her, that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off; that she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
3 Vox clamantis in deserto: Parate viam Domini, rectas facite in solitudine semitas Dei nostri.
Hark! one calleth: 'Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make plain 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 lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the rugged shall be made level, 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 the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.'
6 Vox dicentis: Clama. Et dixi: Quid clamabo? Omnis caro foenum, et omnis gloria eius quasi flos agri.
Hark! one saith: 'Proclaim!' And he saith: 'What shall I proclaim?' 'All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field;
7 Exiccatum est foenum, et cecidit flos, quia spiritus Domini sufflavit in eo. Vere foenum est populus:
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the LORD bloweth upon it — surely the people is grass.
8 exiccatum est foenum, et cecidit flos: Verbum autem Domini nostri manet in aeternum.
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 thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, 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 GOD will come as a Mighty One, and His arm will rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.
11 Sicut pastor gregem suum pascet: in brachio suo congregabit agnos, et in sinu suo levabit, foetas ipse portabit.
Even as a shepherd that feedeth his flock, that gathereth the lambs in his arm, and carrieth them in his bosom, and gently leadeth those that give suck.
12 Quis mensus est pugillo aquas, et caelos palmo ponderavit? quis appendit tribus digitis molem terrae, et libravit 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 meted out the spirit of the LORD? Or who was His counsellor that he might instruct Him?
14 Cum quo iniit consilium, et instruxit eum, et docuit eum semitam iustitiae, et erudivit eum scientiam, et viam prudentiae ostendit illi?
With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of right, and taught Him knowledge, and made Him to know the way of discernment?
15 Ecce Gentes quasi stilla situlae, et quasi momentum staterae reputatae sunt: ecce insulae quasi pulvis exiguus.
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold the isles are as a mote in weight.
16 Et Libanus non sufficiet ad succendendum, et animalia eius non sufficient ad holocaustum.
And Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for burnt-offerings.
17 Omnes gentes quasi non sint, sic sunt coram eo, et quasi nihilum et inane reputatae sunt ei.
All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are accounted by Him as things of nought, 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 image perchance, which the craftsman hath melted, and the goldsmith spread over with gold, the silversmith casting silver chains?
20 Forte lignum, et imputribile elegit: artifex sapiens quaerit quomodo statuat simulacrum, quod non moveatur.
A holm-oak is set apart, he chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning craftsman to set up an image, that shall not be moved.
21 Numquid non scitis? numquid non audistis? numquid non annunciatum est vobis ab initio? numquid non intellexistis fundamenta terrae?
Know ye not? hear ye not? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundations of the earth?
22 Qui sedet super gyrum terrae, et habitatores eius sunt quasi locustae: qui extendit velut nihilum caelos, et expandit eos sicut tabernaculum ad inhabitandum.
It is He that sitteth above 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 terrae velut inane fecit:
That bringeth princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as a thing of nought.
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.
Scarce are they planted, scarce are they sown, scarce hath their stock taken root in the earth; when He bloweth upon them, they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.
25 Et cui assimilastis me, et adaequastis, dicit sanctus?
To whom then will ye liken Me, that I should be equal? saith the Holy One.
26 Levate in excelsum oculos vestros, et videte quis creavit haec: qui educit in numero militiam eorum, et omnes ex nomine vocat: prae multitudine fortitudinis et roboris, virtutisque eius, neque unum reliquum fuit.
Lift up your eyes on high, and see: who hath created these? He that bringeth out their host by number, He calleth them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and 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 the LORD, and my right is passed over from my God'?
28 Numquid nescis, aut non audisti? Deus sempiternus Dominus, qui creavit terminos terrae: non deficiet, neque laborabit, nec est investigatio sapientiae eius.
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? His discernment is past searching out.
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 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 aquilae, current et non laborabunt, ambulabunt et non deficient.
But they that wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.
