Isaiæ 40
1 consolamini consolamini populus meus dicit Deus vester
“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
2 loquimini ad cor Hierusalem et avocate eam quoniam conpleta est malitia eius 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 faenum et omnis gloria eius 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 faenum et cecidit flos quia spiritus Domini sufflavit in eo vere faenum 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 faenum cecidit flos verbum autem Dei nostri stabit in aeternum
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
9 super montem excelsum ascende tu quae evangelizas Sion exalta in fortitudine vocem tuam quae evangelizas Hierusalem exalta noli timere dic civitatibus Iudae 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 eius dominabitur ecce merces eius cum eo et opus illius coram eo
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 fetas 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 caelos palmo ponderavit quis adpendit tribus digitis molem terrae et libravit 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 adiuvit spiritum Domini aut quis consiliarius eius 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 iustitiae et erudivit eum scientiam et viam prudentiae 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 situlae et quasi momentum staterae reputatae sunt ecce insulae 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 eius 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 reputatae sunt ei
All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
18 cui ergo similem fecistis 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 lamminis argenteis argentarius
To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?
20 forte lignum et inputribile elegit artifex sapiens quaerit 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 scietis numquid non audietis numquid non adnuntiatum est ab initio vobis numquid non intellexistis fundamenta terrae
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 terrae et habitatores eius sunt quasi lucustae qui extendit velut nihilum caelos 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 iudices terrae velut inane fecit
He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.
24 et quidem neque plantatos neque satos neque radicato in terra trunco 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 adsimilastis me et adaequastis 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 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: 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 Iacob et loqueris Israhel abscondita est via mea a Domino et a Deo meo iudicium meum transibit
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 terrae non deficiet neque laborabit nec est investigatio sapientiae eius
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 iuvenes in infirmitate cadent
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
31 qui autem sperant in Domino mutabunt fortitudinem adsument pinnas sicut aquilae 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.
