Isaiah 40
40
Promise of Salvation
1#The “voices” of vv. 3, 6 are members of the heavenly court addressing the prophet; then v. 1 can be understood as the Lord addressing them. It is also possible to translate, with the Vulgate, “Comfort, give comfort, O my people” (i.e., the exiles are called to comfort Jerusalem). The juxtaposition of “my people” and “your God” recalls the covenant formulary. Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
2Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service#Service: servitude (cf. Jb 7:1) and exile. has ended,
that her guilt is expiated,
That she has received from the hand of the Lord
double for all her sins.
3A voice proclaims:#A description of the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem (Zion). The language used here figuratively describes the way the exiles will take. The Lord leads them, so their way lies straight across the wilderness rather than along the well-watered routes usually followed from Mesopotamia to Israel. Mt 3:3 and gospel parallels adapt these verses to the witness of John the Baptizer to Jesus.
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!#Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 2:27; Jn 1:23.
4Every valley shall be lifted up,
every mountain and hill made low;
The rugged land shall be a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
5Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
6A voice says, “Proclaim!”
I answer, “What shall I proclaim?”
“All flesh is grass,
and all their loyalty like the flower of the field.#Jb 8:12; 14:2; Ps 37:2; Sir 14:18; Jas 1:10; 1 Pt 1:24.
7The grass withers, the flower wilts,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it.”
“Yes, the people is grass!
8The grass withers, the flower wilts,
but the word of our God stands forever.”
9Go up onto a high mountain,
Zion, herald of good news!#Herald of good news: i.e., of the imminent restoration of the people to their land. This theme of the proclamation of the good news occurs elsewhere in Second Isaiah; cf. also 41:27; 52:7.
Cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Cry out, do not fear!
Say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
10Here comes with power
the Lord God,
who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
11Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
leading the ewes with care.#Is 49:9–10; 63:11; Ez 34:23; 37:24; Jn 10:11.
Power of God and the Vanity of Idols
12Who has measured with his palm the waters,
marked off the heavens with a span,
held in his fingers the dust of the earth,
weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?#The implicit answer is “the hand of the Lord” (v. 2). Waters…heavens…earth: together form the universe; cf. Gn 1:1–2. Span: the distance between the extended little finger and the thumb. Fingers: lit., “three fingers” (i.e., thumb, index, and middle).
13Who has directed the spirit of the Lord,
or instructed him as his counselor?#Wis 9:13; Rom 11:34; 1 Cor 2:16; Jb 38:1–11.
14Whom did he consult to gain knowledge?
Who taught him the path of judgment,
or showed him the way of understanding?
15See, the nations count as a drop in the bucket,
as a wisp of cloud on the scales;
the coastlands weigh no more than a speck.#Drop…wisp of cloud…a speck: the smallest constituent parts of the cosmic waters, heavens, and earth mentioned in v. 12.
16Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,#Lebanon…fuel: the famed cedars would not be enough to keep the fires of sacrifice burning.
nor its animals be enough for burnt offerings.
17Before him all the nations are as nought,
as nothing and void he counts them.
18To whom can you liken God?#Acts 17:29.
With what likeness can you confront him?
19An idol? An artisan casts it,
the smith plates it with gold,
fits it with silver chains.#Chains: needed to hold the idol steady when carried in processions; cf. v. 20; Jer 10:4. #Ps 115:4–7; Jer 10:4.
20Is mulberry wood the offering?
A skilled artisan picks out
a wood that will not rot,
Seeks to set up for himself
an idol that will not totter.#Is 44:13.
21Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Was it not told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the founding of the earth?
22The one who is enthroned above the vault of the earth,
its inhabitants like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a veil
and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in,#Ps 104:2.
23Who brings princes to nought
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely their stem rooted in the earth,
When he breathes upon them and they wither,
and the stormwind carries them away like straw.
25To whom can you liken me as an equal?
says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high
and see who created#Created: see note on Gn 1:1–2:3. By name: for he is their Creator. these:
He leads out their army and numbers them,
calling them all by name.
By his great might and the strength of his power
not one of them is missing!#Ps 147:4–5.
27Why, O Jacob, do you say,#The exiles, here called Jacob-Israel (Gn 32:29), must not give way to discouragement: their Lord is the eternal God.
and declare, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is God from of old,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary,
and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
29He gives power to the faint,
abundant strength to the weak.
30Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
31They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength,
they will soar on eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 40
40
XL
1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God:
2Speak ye things pleasing to the heart of Jerusalem, and declare unto her,
That her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity hath been expiated;
That she hath received at the hand of Jehovah
Double for all her sins.
3A voice crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of Jehovah,
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4Every valley shall be exalted,
And every mountain and bill shall be made low,
And the crooked shall become Straight;
And the rough places a smooth plain:
5And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall See together
That the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
6A voice saith, Proclaim!
And he said, What shall I proclaim?
All flesh is grass,
And all his goodliness like the flower of the field:
7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth,
When the spirit of Jehovah bloweth upon it:
Surely the people is grass.
8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth;
But the word of God shall stand for ever.
9Get thee up upon a high mountain, O Zion, that bringest good tidings:
Lift up thy voice with strength, O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings;
Lift it up; be not afraid:
Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10Behold, the Lord. Jehovah shall come with might,
And his arm shall rule for him:
Behold, his reward is with him;
And the recompense of his word is before him.
11He shall feed his flock, like a shepherd;
In his arm shall he gather up the lambs,
And in his bosom carry them;
The nursing ewes shall he gently lead.
12Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
And hath meted out the heavens with a span;
And hath comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure,
And hath weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13Who hath searched out the Spirit of Jehovah,
Or being his counsellor hath taught him?
14With whom took he counsel, that he should instruct him;
And teach him in the path of judgment;
And teach him knowledge,
And shew to him the way of understanding?
15Behold, the nations are as a drop from the bucket;
And as the small dust on a balance shall they be accounted:
Behold, the isles are as an atom which flitteth away.
16And Lebanon is not sufficient to supply fire,
Nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.
17All the nations are before him, as though they were nought;
They are accounted by Him as less than nought and vanity.
18To whom then will ye liken God?
Or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19The workman casteth an image,
And the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold;
And forgeth for it chains of silver.
20He that is too poor to make a costly oblation chooseth him a piece of wood that will not rot;
He seeketh unto him a skilful workman,
To erect an image which shall not be moved.
21Have ye not known? have ye not heard?
Hath it not been told you from the beginning?
Have ye not understood it from the foundations of the earth?
22He it is who sitteth upon the circle of the earth,
And the inhabitants thereof are as locusts:
Who stretcheth out the heavens, like a canopy;
And spreadeth them out, as a tent to dwell in:
23Who reduceth princes to nothing;
Who maketh the rulers of the earth as vanity.
24Yea, they shall not scarcely be planted; yea, they shall not scarcely be sown;
Yea, their trunk shall not scarcely take root in the earth;
And yet should He but blow upon them, they wither;
And the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.
25To whom then will ye liken me?
And to whom shall I be equalled? saith the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high,
And behold who hath created these things;
Who bringeth out their hosts by number,
Who calleth them all by name:
Through multitude of strength, and might of power,
Not one of them is missing.
27Why sayest thou, O Jacob,
And speakest, O Israel:
My way is hidden from Jehovah,
And my cause passeth unregarded by my God?
28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard,
That the everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
Fainteth not, neither is weary?
There is no searching out of his understanding.
29He giveth power to the faint,
And to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall;
31But they that wait upon Jehovah shall gather new strength;
They shall mount up with wings as eagles;
They shall run, and not be weary,
They shall walk, and not faint.
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.