Isaiæ 40
1 consolamini consolamini populus meus dicit Deus vester
“Be consoled, be consoled, O 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 to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out to her! For her malice has reached its end. Her iniquity has been forgiven. She has received double for all her sins from the hand of the Lord.
3 vox clamantis in deserto parate viam Domini rectas facite in solitudine semitas Dei nostri
The voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight the paths of our God, in a solitary place.
4 omnis vallis exaltabitur et omnis mons et collis humiliabitur et erunt prava in directa et aspera in vias planas
Every valley will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. And the crooked will be straightened, and the uneven will become level ways.
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 flesh together will see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 vox dicentis clama et dixi quid clamabo omnis caro faenum et omnis gloria eius quasi flos agri
The voice of one saying, “Cry out!” And I said, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.
7 exsiccatum est faenum et cecidit flos quia spiritus Domini sufflavit in eo vere faenum est populus
The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. For the Spirit of the Lord has blown over it. Truly, the people are like grass.
8 exsiccatum est faenum cecidit flos verbum autem Dei nostri stabit in aeternum
The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. But the Word of our Lord remains for eternity.”
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
You who evangelize Zion, climb a high mountain! You who evangelize Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Do not be afraid! Say to 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 eo
Behold, the Lord God will arrive in strength, and his arm will rule. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him.
11 sicut pastor gregem suum pascet in brachio suo congregabit agnos et in sinu suo levabit fetas ipse portabit
He will pasture his flock like a shepherd. He will gather together the lambs with his arm, and he will lift them up to his bosom, and he himself will carry the very young.
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, and who has weighed the heavens with his palm? Who has suspended the mass of the earth with three fingers, and who has weighed the mountains on a balance and the hills on a scale?
13 quis adiuvit spiritum Domini aut quis consiliarius eius fuit et ostendit illi
Who has assisted the Spirit of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor and has revealed things to 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 has he consulted? And who has instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and guided him to knowledge, and revealed the way of understanding to him?
15 ecce gentes quasi stilla situlae et quasi momentum staterae reputatae sunt ecce insulae quasi pulvis exiguus
Behold, the nations are like a drop of water in a bucket, and they are considered as the smallest grain on a balance. Behold, the islands are like a little dust.
16 et Libanus non sufficiet ad succendendum et animalia eius non sufficient ad holocaustum
And Lebanon will not be sufficient to start a fire, and its animals will not be sufficient 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 in his sight are as if they did not exist, and they are considered by him as if they were nothingness and emptiness.
18 cui ergo similem fecistis Deum aut quam imaginem ponetis ei
Therefore, to whom would you liken God? Or with what image would you replace him?
19 numquid sculptile conflavit faber aut aurifex auro figuravit illud et lamminis argenteis argentarius
Should the workman cast a statue? Or has the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?
20 forte lignum et inputribile elegit artifex sapiens quaerit quomodo statuat simulacrum quod non moveatur
He has chosen strong wood that will not decay. The skillful artisan seeks a way to set up an idol that cannot be moved.
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 announced to you from the beginning? Have you not understood the foundations 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 is the One who sits upon the globe of the earth, and its inhabitants are like locusts. He extends the heavens as if they were nothing, and he spreads them out like a tent, in which to dwell.
23 qui dat secretorum scrutatores quasi non sint iudices terrae velut inane fecit
He has brought those who examine what is secret to nothingness. He has brought the judges of the earth to emptiness.
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
And certainly, their stalk was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the ground. He has suddenly blown across them, and they have withered, and a whirlwind will carry them away like chaff.
25 et cui adsimilastis me et adaequastis dicit Sanctus
“And to whom would you compare me or equate me?” says 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 has created these things. He leads forth their army by number, and he calls them all by name. Because of the fullness of his strength and robustness and virtue, not one of them was left behind.
27 quare dicis Iacob et loqueris Israhel abscondita est via mea a Domino et a Deo meo iudicium meum transibit
Why do you say this, O Jacob, and why do you speak this way, O Israel? “My way has been hidden from the Lord, and my judgment escaped notice 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, or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, who has created the limits of the earth. He does not diminish, and he does not struggle. Neither is his wisdom searchable.
29 qui dat lasso virtutem et his qui non sunt fortitudinem et robur multiplicat
It is he who gives strength to the weary, and it is he who increases fortitude and strength in those who are failing.
30 deficient pueri et laborabunt et iuvenes in infirmitate cadent
Servants will struggle and fail, and young men will fall into infirmity.
31 qui autem sperant in Domino mutabunt fortitudinem adsument pinnas sicut aquilae current et non laborabunt ambulabunt et non deficient
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.
