Isaiah 40
40
Comfort for God’s People
1Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord#40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.#40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God
4Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
9You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,#40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13Who can fathom the Spirit#40:13 Or mind of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
14Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18With whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
19As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.
21Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
27Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28Do 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,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
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Isaiah 40: NIV
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Isaiah 40
40
Encourage God's People
1Our God has said:
“Encourage my people!
Give them comfort.
2Speak kindly to Jerusalem
and announce:
Your slavery is past;
your punishment is over.
I, the Lord, made you pay
double for your sins.”
3 #
Si 48.10; Ba 5.7; Mt 3.3; Mk 1.3; Jn 1.23. #Lk 3.4-6. Someone is shouting:
“Clear a path in the desert!
Make a straight road
for the Lord our God.
4Fill in the valleys;
flatten every hill
and mountain.
Level the rough
and rugged ground.
5Then the glory of the Lord
will appear for all to see.
The Lord has promised this!”
6 #
Jas 1.10,11; 1 P 1.24,25. Someone told me to shout,
and I asked,
“What should I shout?”
We humans are merely grass,
and we last no longer
than wild flowers.
7At the Lord's command,
flowers and grass disappear,
and so do we.
8Flowers and grass fade away,
but what our God has said
will never change.
Your God Is Here!
9There is good news
for the city of Zion.
Shout it as loud as you can#40.9 There … can: Or “City of Jerusalem, you have good news. Shout it as loud as you can.”
from the highest mountain.
Don't be afraid to shout
to the towns of Judah:
“Your God is here!”
10 #
Is 62.11; Rev 22.12. Look! The powerful Lord God
is coming to rule
with his mighty arm.
He brings with him
what he has taken in war,
and he rewards his people.
11 #
Ez 34.15; Jn 10.11. The Lord cares for his nation,
just as shepherds care
for their flocks.
He carries the lambs
in his arms,
while gently leading
the mother sheep.
Who Compares with God?
12Did any of you measure
the ocean by yourself
or stretch out the sky
with your own hands?
Did you put the soil
of the earth in a bucket
or weigh the hills and mountains
on balance scales?
13 #
Ro 11.34; 1 Co 2.16. Has anyone told the Lord#40.13 the Lord: Or “the Lord's Spirit.”
what he must do
or given him advice?
14Did the Lord ask anyone
to teach him wisdom
and justice?
Who gave him knowledge
and understanding?
15 #
Ws 11.22; Si 10.16,17. To the Lord, all nations
are merely a drop in a bucket
or dust on balance scales;
all of the islands
are but a handful of sand.
16The cattle on the mountains
of Lebanon
would not be enough to offer
as a sacrifice to God,
and the trees would not
be enough for the fire.
17God thinks of the nations
as far less than nothing.
18 #
Ac 17.29. Who compares with God?
Is anything like him?
19Is an idol at all like God?
It is made of bronze
with a thin layer of gold,
and decorated with silver.
20 #
Ws 13.11-19; Let Jer 8-40. Or special wood may be chosen#40.20 Or … chosen: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Two kinds of idols seem to be described: bronze idols covered with gold (verse 19) and wooden idols (verse 20).
because it doesn't rot—
then skilled hands
take care to make an idol
that won't fall on its face.
God Rules the Whole Earth
21Don't you know?
Haven't you heard?
Hasn't it been clear
since the time of creation?#40.21 Hasn't … creation: Or “Isn't it clear that God created the world?”
22God is the one who rules
the whole earth,
and we that live here
are merely insects.
He spread out the heavens
like a curtain or an open tent.
23God brings down rulers
and turns them into nothing.
24They are like flowers
freshly sprung up
and starting to grow.
But when God blows on them,
they wilt and are carried off
like straw in a storm.
25The holy God asks,
“Who compares with me?
Is anyone my equal?”
26 #
Ba 3.34,35. Look at the evening sky!
Who created the stars?
Who gave them each a name?
Who leads them like an army?
The Lord is so powerful
that none of the stars
are ever missing.
The Lord Gives Strength
27You people of Israel say,
“God pays no attention to us!
He doesn't care if we
are treated unjustly.”
But how can you say that?
28Don't you know?
Haven't you heard?
The Lord is the eternal God,
Creator of the earth.
He never gets weary or tired;
his wisdom cannot be measured.
29The Lord gives strength
to those who are weary.
30Even young people get tired,
then stumble and fall.
31But those who trust the Lord
will find new strength.
They will be strong like eagles
soaring upward on wings;
they will walk and run
without getting tired.
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.