Isaiah 40
40
God’s People Are Comforted
1“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
2“Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
#Is. 61:7For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
3#Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4–6; John 1:23The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
#(Mal. 3:1; 4:5, 6)“Prepare the way of the Lord;
#Ps. 68:4Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
#Is. 45:2The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5The #Is. 35:2glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
#Job 14:2; James 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:24, 25“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8The grass withers, the flower fades,
But #(John 12:34)the word of our God stands forever.”
9O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
10Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And #Is. 59:16, 18His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, #Is. 62:11; Rev. 22:12His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
11He will #Jer. 31:10; (Ezek. 34:23, 31); Mic. 5:4; (John 10:11, 14–16; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 2:25)feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.
12#Prov. 30:4Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13#Job 21:22; Rom. 11:34; (1 Cor. 2:16)Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And #Job 36:22, 23taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?
15Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17All nations before Him are as #Dan. 4:35nothing,
And #Ps. 62:9they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18To whom then will you #Ex. 8:10; 15:11; 1 Sam. 2:2; Is. 46:5; (Mic. 7:18); Acts 17:29liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19#Ps. 115:4–8; Is. 41:7; 44:10; Hab. 2:18, 19The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
#1 Sam. 5:3, 4; Is. 41:7; 46:7; Jer. 10:3To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21#Ps. 19:1; Is. 37:26; Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:19Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who #Job 9:8; Ps. 104:2; Is. 42:5; 44:24; Jer. 10:12stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a #Job 36:29; Ps. 19:4tent to dwell in.
23He brings the #Job 12:21; Ps. 107:40; Is. 34:12; (1 Cor. 1:26–29)princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25“To#(Deut. 4:15); Is. 40:18; (John 14:9; Col. 1:15) whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
#Ps. 147:4He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
27#Is. 54:7, 8Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
#Ps. 147:5; Eccl. 11:5; Rom. 11:33His understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31But those who #Is. 30:15; 49:23wait on the Lord
#(Job 17:9); Ps. 103:5; (2 Cor. 4:8–10, 16)Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
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Isaiah 40: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 40
40
The Greatness of God
1“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
2“Speak #Lit to the heart of.tenderly to Jerusalem,
And call out to her, that her time of compulsory service in warfare is finished,
That her wickedness has been taken away [since her punishment is sufficient],
That she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double [punishment] for all her sins.”
3A voice of one is calling out,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness [remove the obstacles];
Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4Every valley shall be raised,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged places a broad valley.
5And the glory and majesty and splendor of the Lord will be revealed,
And all humanity shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”
6A voice says, “Call out [prophesy].”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
[The voice answered:] All humanity is [as frail as] grass, and all that makes it attractive [its charm, its loveliness] is [momentary] like the flower of the field.
7The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Most certainly [all] the people are [like] grass.
8The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.
9O Zion, herald of good news,
Get up on a high mountain.
O Jerusalem, herald of good news,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, do not fear;
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10Listen carefully, the Lord God will come with might,
And His arm will rule for Him.
Most certainly His reward is with Him,
And His restitution accompanies Him.
11He will protect His flock like a shepherd,
He will gather the lambs in His arm,
He will carry them in His bosom;
He will gently and carefully lead those nursing their young.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens with a span [of the hand],
And calculated the dust of the earth with a #Lit third.measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
13Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or has taught Him as His counselor?
14With whom did He consult and who enlightened Him?
Who taught Him the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
15In fact, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;
Now look, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
16And [the forests of] Lebanon cannot supply sufficient fuel to start a fire,
Nor are its wild beasts enough for a burnt offering [worthy of the Lord].
17All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.
18To whom then will you liken God?
Or with what likeness will you compare Him?
19 As for the cast image (idol), a metalworker casts it,
A goldsmith overlays it with gold
And a silversmith casts its silver chains.
20He who is too impoverished for such an offering [to give to his god]
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To [carve and] set up an idol that will not totter.
21Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]?
22It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
[It is He] who stretches out the heavens like a veil
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23It is He who reduces dignitaries to nothing,
Who makes the judges (rulers) of the earth meaningless (useless).
24Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And a strong wind carries them away like stubble.
25“To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these heavenly bodies,
The One who brings out their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one is missing.
27Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?
28Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become tired or grow weary;
There is no searching of His understanding.
29He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who has no might He increases power.
30Even youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.
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