Yesha 'yahu (Isa) 40
40
1“Comfort and keep comforting my people,” says your God.
2“Tell Yerushalayim to take heart; proclaim to her
that she has completed her time of service,
that her guilt has been paid off,
that she has received at the hand of Adonai
double for all her sins.”
3A voice cries out:
“Clear a road through the desert for Adonai!
Level a highway in the ‘Aravah for our God!
4Let every valley be filled in,
every mountain and hill lowered,
the bumpy places made level
and the crags become a plain.
5Then the glory of Adonai will be revealed;
all humankind together will see it,
for the mouth of Adonai has spoken.”
6A voice says, “Proclaim!”
And I answer, “What should I proclaim?”
“All humanity is merely grass,
all its kindness like wildflowers:
7the grass dries up, the flower fades,
when a wind from Adonai blows on it.
Surely the people are grass!
8The grass dries up, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever.”
9You who bring good news to Tziyon,
get yourself up on a high mountain;
you who bring good news to Yerushalayim,
cry out at the top of your voice!
Don’t be afraid to shout out loud!
Say to the cities of Y’hudah,
“Here is your God!
10Here comes Adonai Elohim with power,
and his arm will rule for him.
Look! His reward is with him,
and his recompense is before him.
11He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,
gathering his lambs with his arm,
carrying them against his chest,
gently leading the mother sheep.”
12Who has counted the handfuls of water in the sea,
measured off the sky with a ruler,
gauged how much dust there is on the earth,
weighed the mountains on scales, or the hills in a balance?
13Who has measured the Spirit of Adonai?
Who has been his counselor, instructing him?
14Whom did he consult, to gain understanding?
Who taught him how to judge,
taught him what he needed to know,
showed him how to discern?
15The nations are like a drop in a bucket,
they count like a grain of dust on the scales.
The islands weigh as little as specks of dust.
16The L’vanon would not suffice for fuel
or its animals be enough for burnt offerings.
17Before him all the nations are like nothing.
He regards them as less than nothing.
18With whom, then, will you compare God?
By what standard will you evaluate him?
19An image made by a craftsman,
which a goldsmith overlays with gold,
for which he then casts silver chains?
20A man too poor to afford an offering
chooses a piece of wood that won’t rot,
then seeks out a skilled artisan
to prepare an image that won’t fall over.
21Don’t you know? Don’t you hear?
Haven’t you been told from the start?
Don’t you understand how the earth is set up?
22He who sits above the circle of the earth —
for whom its inhabitants appear like grasshoppers —
stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23He reduces princes to nothing,
the rulers of the earth to emptiness.
24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely their stem taken root in the ground,
when he blows on them, they dry up,
and the whirlwind carries them off like straw.
25“With whom, then, will you compare me?
With whom am I equal?” asks the Holy One.
26Turn your eyes to the heavens!
See who created these?
He brings out the army of them in sequence,
summoning each by name.
Through his great might and his massive strength,
not one of them is missing.
27Why do you complain, Ya‘akov;
why do you say, Isra’el,
“My way is hidden from Adonai,
my rights are ignored by my God”?
28Haven’t you known, haven’t you heard
that the everlasting God, Adonai,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
does not grow tired or weary?
His understanding cannot be fathomed.
29He invigorates the exhausted,
he gives strength to the powerless.
30Young men may grow tired and weary,
even the fittest may stumble and fall;
31but those who hope in Adonai will renew their strength,
they will soar aloft as with eagles’ wings;
when they are running they won’t grow weary,
when they are walking they won’t get tired.
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Yesha 'yahu (Isa) 40: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleIsaiah 40
40
Comfort for God’s People
1“Comfort; comfort my people,” says your God.
2“Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her,
that her compulsory labor is fulfilled, that her sin is paid for,
that she has received#Literally “taken” from the hand of Yahweh double for all her sins.”
3A voice is calling in the wilderness, “Clear the way of Yahweh!
Make a highway smooth in the desert for our God!
4Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill shall become low,
And the rough ground shall be like a plain,
and the rugged ground like a valley-plain.
5And the glory of Yahweh shall be revealed,
and all humankind#Literally “flesh” together shall see it,
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
6A voice is saying, “Call!”
And he said, “What shall I call?”
All humankind#Literally “flesh” are grass,
and all his loyalty is like the flowers of the field.
7Grass withers; the flower withers
when the breath of Yahweh blows on it.
Surely the people are grass.
8Grass withers; the flower withers,
but#Or “and” the word of our God will stand forever.
9Get yourself#Literally “Go for you” up to a high mountain, Zion, bringer of good news!
Lift up your voice with strength, Jerusalem, bringer of good news!
Lift it up; you must not fear!
Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
10Look! The Lord Yahweh comes with strength,#Literally “strong”
and his arm rules for him.
Look! His reward is with him,
and his recompense in his presence.#Literally “before his face”
11He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arm,
and he will carry them in his bosom;
he will lead those who nurse.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
comprehended the dust of the earth in a third of a measure
and weighed out the mountains in the scales,#Hebrew “scale” and the hills in a balance?
13Who has measured up the spirit of Yahweh
or informed him as his counselor#Literally “the man of his counsel”?
14With whom has he consulted, that#Or “and” he enlightened him#Or “made him understand”
and taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and made the way of understanding known to him?
15Look! The nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and they are counted like dust of the balances!
Look! He weighs the islands like a thin covering.
16And Lebanon is not enough to light a fire,
and its animals#Hebrew “animal” not enough for a burnt offering.
17All the nations are like nothing before him;
they are counted by him as#Or “from” nothing and emptiness.
18And to whom will you liken God?
And to what likeness will you compare him?
19A craftsman pours out the idol,
and a goldsmith#Literally “refiner” overlays it with gold,
and he smelts chains of silver.
20The one who is too impoverished for a gift chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks a skillful artisan for himself to set up an image that will not be knocked over.
21Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?#Literally “head”
Have you not understood from the foundation of the earth?
22He is the one who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
the one who stretches out the heavens like a veil
and spreads them out like a tent to live in,
23the one who brings#Or “gives” princes to nothing;
he makes rulers of the earth like nothing.
24Indeed, hardly are they planted; indeed, hardly are they sown;
indeed, hardly has their shoot taken root in the earth
when#Or “also” he blows on them and they wither,
and the tempest carries them like stubble.
25“And to whom you will compare me, and am I equal?” says the holy one.
26Lift your eyes up on high, and see! Who created these?
The one who brings out their host by number.
He calls all them by name.
Because he is great of power
and mighty of power, no man is missing.
27Why#Literally “To what” do you say, Jacob,
and you speak, Israel,
“My way is hidden from Yahweh,
and my judgment is passed over by my God?”
28Have you not known,
or have you not heard?
Yahweh is the God of eternity,
the creator of the ends of the earth!
He is not faint, and he does not grow weary!
There is no searching his understanding.
29He gives power to the weary,
and he increases power for the powerless.#Literally “not power”
30Even#Or “And” young people will be faint and grow weary,
and the young will stumble, exhausted.
31But#Or “And” those who wait for Yahweh shall renew their strength.
They shall go up with wings#Hebrew “wing” like eagles;
they shall run and not grow weary;
they shall walk and not be faint.
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