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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Isaiah 40: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 40
40
Prepare the Way for the Lord
(Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20; John 1:19–28)
1“Comfort, comfort My people,”
says your God.
2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her forced labor has been completed;
her iniquity has been pardoned.
For she has received from the hand of the Lord
double for all her sins.”
3A voice of one calling:
“Prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness;#40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord
make a straight highway for our God in the desert.#40:3 LXX make straight the paths of our God; cited in Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, and John 1:23
4Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill made low;
the uneven ground will become smooth,
and the rugged land a plain.#40:4 LXX Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low. All the crooked ways shall become straight, and the rough places plains. Cited in Luke 3:5
5And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all humanity together will see it.#40:5 Literally and all flesh together will see it. Cited in Luke 3:6
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Enduring Word
(1 Peter 1:22–25)
6A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I asked, “What should I cry out?”
“All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
7The grass withers and the flowers fall
when the breath of the Lord blows on them;
indeed, the people are grass.
8The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”#40:8 Cited in 1 Peter 1:24–25
Here Is Your God!
(Romans 11:33–36)
9Go up on a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news.
Raise your voice loudly,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news.
Lift it up,#40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. O herald of good news to Jerusalem, lift it up,
do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and His arm establishes His rule.
His reward is with Him,
and His recompense accompanies Him.
11He tends His flock like a shepherd;
He gathers the lambs in His arms
and carries them close to His heart.
He gently leads the nursing ewes.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on a scale
and the hills with a balance?
13Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,#40:13 Or mind of the Lord; see also LXX.
or informed Him as His counselor?#40:13 Cited in Romans 11:34 and 1 Corinthians 2:16
14Whom did He consult to enlighten Him,
and who taught Him the paths of justice?
Who imparted knowledge to Him
and showed Him the way of understanding?
15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered a speck of dust on the scales;
He lifts up the islands #40:15 Or coastlands like fine dust.
16Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel,
nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.
17All the nations are as nothing before Him;
He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
18To whom will you liken God?
To what image will you compare Him?
19To an idol that a craftsman casts
and a metalworker overlays with gold
and fits with silver chains?
20To one bereft of an offering
who chooses wood that will not rot,
who seeks a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not topple?
21Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?
22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its dwellers are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23He brings the princes to nothing
and makes the rulers #40:23 Or judges of the earth meaningless.
24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown,
no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground,
than He blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.
25“To whom will you liken Me,
or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high:
Who created all these?
He leads forth the starry host by number;
He calls each one by name.
Because of His great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and why do you assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?
28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary;
His understanding is beyond searching out.
29He gives power to the faint
and increases the strength of the weak.
30Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall.
31But those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength;
they will mount up with wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not faint.
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.