Isaiah 40
40
Chapter 40
God's promises to his people
1Your God says, ‘Comfort my people.
Yes, comfort them.
2Speak kindly to the people in Jerusalem.
Tell them that their time of trouble has now finished.
Their punishment has been enough.
The Lord has made them pay for their sins.
He has made them pay twice.’
3Somebody's voice is shouting,
‘Prepare a way in the wilderness for the Lord.
Make a straight road in the desert for our God.
4Raise up every valley,
and bring down every mountain and hill.
The rough ground and the ground that has rocks
will become flat.
5Then the great glory of the Lord will appear!
All people will see it at the same time.
The Lord himself has promised this.’
6A voice is saying, ‘Shout!’
But I say, ‘What should I shout?’
‘Shout that all people are like grass.
Their promises are like the flowers in a field.
7Grass quickly dies,
and flowers fall to the ground.
The Lord causes this to happen,
when he sends a wind to blow on them.
It is true. People are like grass.
8Grass quickly dies,
and flowers fall to the ground.
But God's promise will be true for ever.’
9Zion, you have good news to tell to people!
So go up onto a high mountain.
Yes, Jerusalem, shout the good news!
Shout aloud, and do not be afraid.
Say to the towns in Judah, ‘Here is your God!’
10Look! The Almighty Lord is coming with power.
He will use his great strength to rule the people.
Look again! He is bringing his gifts with him.
He brings the prize that he has won in battle.
11He takes care of his people,
like a shepherd who takes care of his sheep. #40:11 A shepherd is a picture of somebody who takes care of his people. God often thinks about his people as sheep who need a shepherd.
He picks up the young lambs
and he carries them near to his heart.
He carefully leads the mother sheep that have lambs.
12Nobody has done what God has done!
He measured all the water of the seas in one hand.
He used his hand to measure the whole sky.
He carefully weighed the soil of the earth.
He carefully weighed the mountains in his scales,
and the hills too.
13Nobody understands the mind of the Lord.
Nobody can be his advisor,
to tell him what he should do.
14He does not ask anyone to be his guide.
Nobody can teach him the proper way to do things.
Nobody can give him knowledge.
Nobody can teach him how to understand things.
15The Lord looks at the nations
as if they are a little bit of water in a bucket.
They are like dust on his scales.
He weighs the islands as he would weigh dust.
16All the trees from Lebanon's forests are not enough
to make a fire for his altar.
All its animals are not enough to offer to him
as burnt offerings.
17All the nations in the world are not important to the Lord.
He sees them as empty and useless.
18You cannot find anyone else who is like God.
There is no image that you can make to be like him.
19A worker may use special skill to make an idol.
Another worker may cover it with gold.
He may use silver chains to make it beautiful.
20A poor person may choose special wood for his idol.
He chooses wood that will not quickly become spoiled.
Then he finds a worker to make an idol for him.
He makes it so that it will not fall over!
21You must surely know what is true!
You must have heard about it.
Somebody must have told you these things
from the beginning.
You should have understood it all
since the time that God made the earth.
22God sits high above on his throne
where the earth and the sky meet.
The people on the earth seem like grasshoppers to him.
He hangs out the sky like a curtain.
He makes it like a tent for him to live in.
23He takes away the power of kings.
He causes the rulers of the world to be useless.
24They are like plants that soon disappear.
Somebody plants them in the ground.
But while their roots are still growing into the soil,
God blows on them and they become dry.
Then the wind carries them away like straw.
25The Holy God says,
‘You cannot find anyone who is like me.
Nobody is the same as me.’
26Look up at the sky!
Think about the one who made all the stars.
God is the one who brought together that great army!
He knows how many they are
and he knows each of their names!
When he calls them, each one is there,
because he is so strong and powerful.
27You Israelites, descendants of Jacob, say,
‘The Lord does not know about our troubles.
He does not bring justice to us.’
Why do you say that?
28You must surely know what is true!
You must have heard about it.
The Lord is the God who lives for ever.
He made the whole earth, near and far.
He never becomes tired or weak.
He knows and he understands everything.
29He makes tired people strong again.
When people have become weak,
he gives them more strength.
30Even young people become tired and weak.
Even strong young men may slip and fall down.
31But people who wait for the Lord to help them
will receive new strength.
They will rise up high,
as if they have the wings of eagles.
They will run and they will not become tired.
They will walk and they will not become weak.
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Isaiah 40: EASY
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MissionAssist 2018
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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