Isaiah 40
40
1Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare#40.2 Or time of service is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
3 #
Mt 3.3; Mk 1.3; Lk 3.4; Jn 1.23. A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 #
Lk 3.5-6. Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 #
1 Pet 1.24-25. A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people is grass.
8The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand for ever.
9 #
Is 52.7; Nah 1.15; Acts 10.36; Rom 10.15. Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;#40.9 Or O herald of good tidings to Zion
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,#40.9 Or O herald of good tidings to Jerusalem
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 #
Rev 22.7,12. Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11He will feed his flock like a shepherd,
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 #
Rom 11.34; 1 Cor 2.16. Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
or as his counselor has instructed him?
14Whom did he consult for his enlightenment,
and who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
15Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the isles like fine dust.
16Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
18To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
19The idol! a workman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold,
and casts for it silver chains.
20He who is impoverished#40.20 Heb uncertain chooses for an offering
wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skilful craftsman
to set up an image that will not move.
21Have 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 stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.
27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hid from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary,
his understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31but they who wait for the Lord 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.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 40: RSV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Isaiah 40
40
God’s People Comforted
1“Comfort, comfort my people,”#Is 12:1; 49:13; 51:3,12; 52:9; 61:2; 66:13; Jr 31:10–14; Zph 3:14–17; 2Co 1:4
says your God.
2“Speak tenderly to#40:2 Lit Speak to the heart of Jerusalem,
and announce to her
that her time of hard service is over,
her iniquity#Is 13:11 has been pardoned,#Lv 26:41,43; Is 27:9
and she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.”#Ex 22:7–8; Jr 16:18; Zch 9:12; Rv 18:6
3A voice of one crying out:
Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness;#Mal 3:1; 4:5–6
make a straight highway for our God in the desert.#Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4; Jn 1:23
4Every valley will be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled;
the uneven ground will become smooth
and the rough places, a plain.#Lk 3:5–6
5And the glory of the Lord will appear,#Is 35:2
and all humanity#40:5 Lit flesh together will see it,#Is 52:10; Jl 2:28
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.#Is 1:20; 34:16; 58:14
6A voice was saying, “Cry out!”
Another said,#40:6 DSS, LXX, Vg read I said “What should I cry out?”
“All humanity is grass,#1Pt 1:24–25
and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.#Jb 14:2; Ps 102:11; 103:15
7The grass withers, the flowers fade
when the breath#40:7 Or wind, or Spirit of the Lord blows on them;#40:7 Lit it
indeed, the people are grass.
8The grass withers, the flowers fade,#Jms 1:11
but the word of our God remains forever.”#Is 55:11; 59:21; Mk 13:31; Lk 21:33
9Zion, herald of good news,
go up on a high mountain.#Is 52:7
Jerusalem, herald of good news,#Is 61:1
raise your voice loudly.
Raise it, do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!” #Is 25:9; 35:2
10See, the Lord God comes with strength,
and his power establishes his rule.#Is 59:16–18
His wages are with him,#Is 62:11; Rv 22:12
and his reward accompanies him.
11He protects his flock like a shepherd;#Jr 31:10; Ezk 34:12–14,23,31; Mc 5:4; Jn 10:11,14–16
he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them in the fold of his garment.
He gently leads those that are nursing.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?#Is 48:13; Heb 1:10–12
Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure
or weighed the mountains on a balance
and the hills on the scales?
13Who has directed#40:13 Or measured, or comprehended the Spirit of the Lord,
or who gave him counsel?#Rm 11:34; 1Co 2:16
14Who did he consult?
Who gave him understanding#Jb 21:22; Col 2:3
and taught him the paths of justice?
Who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of understanding?
15Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;
he lifts up the islands like fine dust.
16Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel,
or its animals enough for a burnt offering.#Ps 50:9–11; Mc 6:6–7; Heb 10:5–9
17All the nations are as nothing before him;
they are considered by him
as empty nothingness.#Is 29:7
18With whom will you compare God?
What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?#Ex 8:10; 15:11; 1Sm 2:2; Is 40:25; 46:5; Mc 7:18; Ac 17:29
19An idol? — something that a smelter casts
and a metalworker plates with gold
and makes silver chains for?#Is 2:20; 30:22; 41:7; 44:10
20A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal
that will not rot.#40:20 Or who is too poor for such an offering, or who chooses mulberry wood as a votive gift; Hb obscure
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not fall over.#1Sm 5:3; Is 44:9–15; 46:6–7; Jr 10:3–5
21Do you not know?#Ps 19:1; 50:6; Is 37:26; Ac 14:17; Rm 1:19–20
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you
from the beginning?
Have you not considered
the foundations of the earth?#Is 48:13; 51:13
22God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.#Nm 13:33
He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth#Jb 9:8; Is 37:16; 42:5; 44:24
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.#Jb 36:29; Ps 18:11; 19:4; 104:2
23He reduces princes to nothing#Jb 12:21; Ps 107:40; Is 34:12
and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.
24They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.#Ps 1:4; Is 41:2,16; 64:6; Ezk 17:10,24; Nah 1:4
25“To whom will you compare me,#Is 46:5; Ac 17:29
or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26Look up and see!
Who created#Is 42:5; 48:12–13 these?
He brings out the stars by number;
he calls all of them by name.#Ps 147:4–5
Because of his great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.
27Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?#Is 7:13; 49:4,14
28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,#Gn 21:33; Ps 90:2
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never becomes faint or weary;
there is no limit to his understanding.#Ps 147:5; Rm 11:33
29He gives strength to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.
30Youths may become faint and weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;#Jb 17:9; Ps 103:5; 2Co 4:8–10,16; 12:9
they will soar on wings like eagles;#Ex 19:4; Dt 32:11; Lk 18:1; 2Co 4:1,16; Gl 6:9; Heb 12:3
they will run and not become weary,
they will walk and not faint.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers