Isaiah 40
40
Comfort for God’s People
1 # ch. 51:12; [Luke 2:25] Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 #
Hos. 2:14 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that #[2 Chr. 36:22; Jer. 25:12]her warfare#40:2 Or hardship is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3 # Cited Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23 A voice cries:#40:3 Or A voice of one crying
#
Mal. 3:1; [ch. 57:14] “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
#
Ps. 68:4
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 # Cited Luke 3:5; [ch. 49:11] Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 # [Luke 3:6] And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
# ch. 1:20 for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Word of God Stands Forever
6A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said,#40:6 Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text And someone says “What shall I cry?”
# Cited 1 Pet. 1:24, 25; [Job 14:2; Ps. 102:11; 103:15; James 1:10] All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty#40:6 Or all its constancy is like the flower of the field.
7The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 # Cited James 1:11 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
The Greatness of God
9Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, #ch. 52:7herald of good news;#40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;#40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 # ch. 59:16, 17; [Luke 11:22] Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
# ch. 62:11; [Rev. 22:12] behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 #
Ezek. 34:23; Zech. 11:7; [John 10:11; 21:15; Acts 20:28] He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
# [Matt. 18:12; Luke 15:5] he will gather the lambs in his arms;
# [Num. 11:12] he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
12 # [Prov. 30:4] Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 # Cited Rom. 11:34; [1 Cor. 2:16] Who has measured#40:13 Or has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
#
Job 21:22
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
15Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted #ch. 29:5 as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up #ch. 41:1the coastlands like fine dust.
16Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are #[Ps. 50:10]its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 #
Ps. 62:9; Dan. 4:35; [ch. 41:12] All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 # ver. 25; ch. 46:5; Acts 17:29 To whom then will you liken God,
# [Hos. 13:2] or what likeness compare with him?
19 # [See ver. 18 above] An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 # ch. 46:6; Jer. 10:3-5; See ch. 44:9-15 He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood#40:20 Or He chooses valuable wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.
21 # ver. 28; [Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:19, 20] Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are #[Num. 13:33] like grasshoppers;
#
Job 9:8; Ps. 104:2 who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 #
Job 12:21; Ps. 107:40 who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
# ch. 41:2; [Ps. 83:13] and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 # ver. 18 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
#
Ps. 147:4
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.
27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
# [ch. 49:14] “My way is hidden from the Lord,
# [ch. 49:4] and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is #[Ps. 121:4] the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
#
Ps. 147:5
his understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31but #Ps. 103:5 they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings #[Ex. 19:4]like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
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Isaiah 40: ESV
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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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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