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
Words of Hope
1“Comfort my people,” says our God. “Comfort them!
2Encourage the people of Jerusalem.
Tell them they have suffered long enough
and their sins are now forgiven.#40.2 and their sins are now forgiven; or they have paid for what they did.
I have punished them in full for all their sins.”
3 #
Mt 3.3; Mk 1.3; Jn 1.23 #
Lk 3.4–6
A voice cries out,
“Prepare in the wilderness a road for the LORD!
Clear the way in the desert for our God!
4Fill every valley;
level every mountain.
The hills will become a plain,
and the rough country will be made smooth.
5Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and the whole human race will see it.
The LORD himself has promised this.”
6 #
Jas 1.10–11; 1 Pet 1.24–25 A voice cries out, “Proclaim a message!”
“What message shall I proclaim?” I ask.
“Proclaim that all human beings are like grass;
they last no longer than wild flowers.
7Grass withers and flowers fade,
when the LORD sends the wind blowing over them.
People are no more enduring than grass.
8Yes, grass withers and flowers fade,
but the word of our God endures for ever.”
9Jerusalem, go up on a high mountain
and proclaim the good news!
Call out with a loud voice, Zion;
announce the good news!#40.9 Jerusalem, go up… news!; or Go up on a high mountain and proclaim the good news to Jerusalem! Call out with a loud voice and announce the good news to Zion!
Speak out and do not be afraid.
Tell the towns of Judah
that their God is coming!
10 #
Is 62.11; Rev 22.12 The Sovereign LORD is coming to rule with power,
bringing with him the people he has rescued.#40.10 the people he has rescued; or the rewards he has for his people.
11 #
Ezek 34.15; Jn 10.11 He will take care of his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs together
and carry them in his arms;
he will gently lead their mothers.
Israel's Incomparable God
12Can anyone measure the ocean by handfuls
or measure the sky with his hands?
Can anyone hold the soil of the earth in a cup
or weigh the mountains and hills on scales?
13 #
Rom 11.34; 1 Cor 2.16 Can anyone tell the LORD what to do?
Who can teach him or give him advice?
14With whom does God consult
in order to know and understand
and to learn how things should be done?
15To the LORD the nations are nothing,
no more than a drop of water;
the distant islands are as light as dust.
16All the animals in the forests of Lebanon
are not enough for a sacrifice to our God,
and its trees are too few to kindle the fire.
17The nations are nothing at all to him.
18 #
Acts 17.29
To whom can God be compared?
How can you describe what he is like?
19He is not like an idol that workmen make,
that metalworkers cover with gold
and set in a base of silver.
20The man who cannot afford silver or gold#40.20 Verses 19–20a in Hebrew are unclear.
chooses wood that will not rot.
He finds a skilful craftsman
to make an image that won't fall down.
21Do you not know?
Were you not told long ago?
Have you not heard how the world began?
22It was made by the one who sits on his throne
above the earth and beyond the sky;
the people below look as tiny as ants.
He stretched out the sky like a curtain,
like a tent in which to live.
23He brings down powerful rulers
and reduces them to nothing.
24They are like young plants,
just set out and barely rooted.
When the LORD sends a wind,
they dry up and blow away like straw.
25To whom can the holy God be compared?
Is there anyone else like him?
26Look up at the sky!
Who created the stars you see?
The one who leads them out like an army,
he knows how many there are
and calls each one by name!
His power is so great —
not one of them is ever missing!
27Israel, why then do you complain
that the LORD doesn't know your troubles
or care if you suffer injustice?
28Don't you know? Haven't you heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God;
he created all the world.
He never grows tired or weary.
No one understands his thoughts.
29He strengthens those who are weak and tired.
30Even those who are young grow weak;
young people can fall exhausted.
31But those who trust in the LORD for help
will find their strength renewed.
They will rise on wings like eagles;
they will run and not get weary;
they will walk and not grow weak.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.