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 comfortably to Jerusalem, and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has 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
The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert 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. The uneven 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
The LORD’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.”
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!” One said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is like 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 withers, the flower fades, because the LORD’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.
8 exsiccatum est faenum cecidit flos verbum autem Dei nostri stabit in aeternum
The grass withers, the flower fades; 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
You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Don’t 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 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 fetas ipse portabit
He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their 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 marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measuring basket, 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 has directed the LORD’s Spirit, or has taught 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
Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
15 ecce gentes quasi stilla situlae et quasi momentum staterae reputatae sunt ecce insulae quasi pulvis exiguus
Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.
16 et Libanus non sufficiet ad succendendum et animalia eius non sufficient ad holocaustum
Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals 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 are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
18 cui ergo similem fecistis Deum aut quam imaginem ponetis ei
To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?
19 numquid sculptile conflavit faber aut aurifex auro figuravit illud et lamminis argenteis argentarius
A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.
20 forte lignum et inputribile elegit artifex sapiens quaerit quomodo statuat simulacrum quod non moveatur
He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up a carved image for him that will not be moved.
21 numquid non scietis numquid non audietis numquid non adnuntiatum est ab initio vobis numquid non intellexistis fundamenta terrae
Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from 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
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who 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
who brings princes to nothing, who makes the judges 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
They are planted scarcely. They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.
25 et cui adsimilastis me et adaequastis dicit Sanctus
“To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?” 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, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.
27 quare dicis Iacob et loqueris Israhel abscondita est via mea a Domino et a Deo meo iudicium meum transibit
Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me is disregarded 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
Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
29 qui dat lasso virtutem et his qui non sunt fortitudinem et robur multiplicat
He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might.
30 deficient pueri et laborabunt et iuvenes in infirmitate cadent
Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly 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 for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
