Isaiah 40
40
1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God#GodHebrew: Elohim 2Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her time of suffering is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.
3The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God#GodHebrew: Elohim 4Every valley shall be raised up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places a plain. 5And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken. 6A voice saith, Cry. And he saith, What shall I cry? — All flesh is grass, and all the comeliness thereof as the flower of the field. 7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, for the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God#GodHebrew: Elohim abideth for ever.
9O Zion, that bringest glad tidings, get thee up into a high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest glad tidings, lift up thy voice with strength: lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God#GodHebrew: Elohim 10Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come with might, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompence before him. 11He will feed his flock like a shepherd: he will gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom; he will gently lead those that give suck.
12Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with his span, and grasped the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in scales? 13Who hath directed the Spirit of Jehovah, and, as his counsellor, hath taught him? 14With whom took he counsel, and who gave him intelligence, and instructed him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding? 15Behold, the nations are esteemed as a drop of the bucket, and as the fine dust on the scales; behold, he taketh up the isles as an atom. 16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. 17All the nations are as nothing before him; they are esteemed by him less than a cipher, and vanity.
18To whom then will ye liken ·God#GodHebrew: El and what likeness will ye compare unto him? 19The workman casteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains for it. 20He that is impoverished, so that he hath no offering, chooseth a tree that doth not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilled workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved. 21— Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundation of the earth? 22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a gauze curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; 23that bringeth the princes to nothing, that maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely hath their stock taken root in the earth, but he also bloweth upon them and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble. 25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26Lift up your eyes on high, and see! Who hath created these things, bringing out their host by number? He calleth them all by name; through the greatness of his might and strength of power, not one faileth.
27Why sayest thou, Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and my right is passed away from my God#GodHebrew: Elohim 28Dost thou not know, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God#GodHebrew: Elohim Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not nor tireth? There is no searching of his understanding. 29He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. 30Even the youths shall faint and shall tire, and the young men shall stumble and fall; 31but they that wait upon Jehovah shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not tire; they shall walk, and not faint.
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Isaiah 40: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.