Isaiah 40
40
The Greatness of God
1“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
2“Speak #40:2 Lit to the heart ofkindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her #40:2 Or hard servicewarfare has ended,
That her #40:2 Or penalty of guilt accepted as paid offguilt has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
3¶The voice of one calling out,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make #40:3 Or smoothstraight in the desert a highway for our God.
4“Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the uneven ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 # 40:5 Or In order that the Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6A voice says, “Call out.”
Then #40:6 Another reading is I saidhe answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its #40:6 Or constancyloveliness is like the flower of the field.
7The grass withers, the flower fades,
# 40:7 Or Because When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
The people are indeed grass!
8The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.
9¶Go up on a high mountain,
Zion, messenger of good news,
Raise your voice forcefully,
Jerusalem, messenger of good news;
Raise it up, do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10Behold, the Lord #40:10 Heb YHWH, usually rendered LordGod will come with might,
With His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His compensation is with Him,
And His reward before Him.
11Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in the fold of His robe;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
12¶Who has measured the #40:12 DSS reads waters of the seawaters in the hollow of His hand,
And measured the heavens with a #40:12 Or half cubit (9 in. or 22.8 cm)span,
And #40:12 Lit contained; or comprehendedcalculated the dust of the earth with a measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
13Who has #40:13 Or measured, marked offdirected the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
14With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge,
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
15Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the #40:15 Or coastlandsislands like fine dust.
16Even Lebanon is not enough to #40:16 I.e., for fire on an altarburn,
Nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.
17All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and #40:17 Or voidmeaningless.
18¶To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
19 As for the #40:19 Or carved imageidol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To #40:20 Or set upprepare #40:20 Or a carved imagean idol that will not totter.
21¶Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22It is He who #40:22 Or is enthronedsits above the #40:22 Or vaultcircle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 It is He who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the earth #40:23 Or voidmeaningless.
24 # 40:24 Or Not even Scarcely have they been planted,
# 40:24 Or Not even Scarcely have they been sown,
# 40:24 Or Not even Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
25“To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
26Raise your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who brings out their #40:26 Lit hostmultitude by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the #40:26 As in DSS and ancient versions; MT strongstrength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.
27¶Why do you say, Jacob, and you assert, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And the justice due me #40:27 Lit passes by my Godescapes 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 weary or tired.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives strength to the weary,
And to the one who lacks might He increases power.
30Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31Yet those who #40:31 Or hope inwait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will #40:31 Or sprout wingsmount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
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Isaiah 40: NASB2020
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Isaiah 40
40
Comfort for God’s People
1“Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your God.
2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Tell her that her sad days are gone
and her sins are pardoned.
Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over
for all her sins.”
3Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
for our God!
4Fill in the valleys,
and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
and smooth out the rough places.
5Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
The Lord has spoken!”#40:3-5 Greek version reads He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, / “Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! / Clear a road for our God! / Fill in the valleys, / and level the mountains and hills. / And then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, / and all people will see the salvation sent from God. / The Lord has spoken!” Compare Matt 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-6.
6A voice said, “Shout!”
I asked, “What should I shout?”
“Shout that people are like the grass.
Their beauty fades as quickly
as the flowers in a field.
7The grass withers and the flowers fade
beneath the breath of the Lord.
And so it is with people.
8The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God stands forever.”
9O Zion, messenger of good news,
shout from the mountaintops!
Shout it louder, O Jerusalem.#40:9 Or O messenger of good news, shout to Zion from the mountaintops! Shout it louder to Jerusalem.
Shout, and do not be afraid.
Tell the towns of Judah,
“Your God is coming!”
10Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power.
He will rule with a powerful arm.
See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.
11He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
The Lord Has No Equal
12Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?#40:13 Greek version reads Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Compare Rom 11:34; 1 Cor 2:16.
Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
or show him the path of justice?
15No, for all the nations of the world
are but a drop in the bucket.
They are nothing more
than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth
as though it were a grain of sand.
16All the wood in Lebanon’s forests
and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough
to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.
17The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.
In his eyes they count for less than nothing—
mere emptiness and froth.
18To whom can you compare God?
What image can you find to resemble him?
19Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,
overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
20Or if people are too poor for that,
they might at least choose wood that won’t decay
and a skilled craftsman
to carve an image that won’t fall down!
21Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand?
Are you deaf to the words of God—
the words he gave before the world began?
Are you so ignorant?
22God sits above the circle of the earth.
The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
and makes his tent from them.
23He judges the great people of the world
and brings them all to nothing.
24They hardly get started, barely taking root,
when he blows on them and they wither.
The wind carries them off like chaff.
25“To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
27O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
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