Isaiah 40
40
Comfort My People
1“Comfort my people! Comfort them!” says your God.
2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and announce to it
that its time of hard labor is over
and its wrongs have been paid for.
It has received from the Lord double for all its sins.”
3A voice cries out in the desert:
“Clear a way for the Lord.
Make a straight highway in the wilderness for our God.
4Every valley will be raised.
Every mountain and hill will be lowered.
Steep places will be made level.
Rough places will be made smooth.
5Then the Lord’s glory will be revealed
and all people will see it together.
The Lord has spoken.”
6A voice called, “Call out!”
I asked, “What should I call out?”
“Call out: All people are like grass,
and all their beauty is like a flower in the field.
7Grass dries up,
and flowers wither when the Lord’s breath blows on them.
Yes, people are like grass.
8Grass dries up,
and flowers wither,
but our God’s word will last forever.”
9Go up a high mountain, Zion.
Tell the good news!
Call out with a loud voice, Jerusalem.
Tell the good news!
Raise your voice without fear.
Tell the cities of Judah:
“Here is your God!”
10The Almighty Lord is coming with power
to rule with authority.
His reward is with him,
and the people he has won arrive ahead of him.
11Like a shepherd he takes care of his flock.
He gathers the lambs in his arms.
He carries them in his arms.
He gently helps the sheep and their lambs.
God Gives Strength to Those Who Depend on Him
12Who has measured the water of the sea #40:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text “Who has measured the water.” with the palm of his hand
or measured the sky with the length of his hand?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a bushel basket
or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills on a balance?
13Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord
or instructed him as his adviser?
14Whom did he consult?
Who gave him understanding?
Who taught him the right way?
Who taught him knowledge?
Who informed him about the way to understanding?
15The nations are like a drop in a bucket
and are considered to be like dust on a scale.
The weight of the islands is like fine dust.
16All the trees in Lebanon are not enough to burn an offering.
Its wild animals are not enough for a single burnt offering.
17All the nations amount to nothing in his presence.
He considers them less than nothing and worthless.
18To whom, then, can you compare God?
To what statue can you compare him?
19Craftsmen make idols.
Goldsmiths cover them with gold.
Silversmiths make silver chains for them.
20The poorest people choose wood that will not rot
and search out skillful craftsmen
to set up idols that will not fall over.
21Don’t you know?
Haven’t you heard?
Haven’t you been told from the beginning?
Don’t you understand the foundations of the earth?
22God is enthroned above the earth,
and those who live on it are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the sky like a canopy
and spreads it out like a tent to live in.
23He makes rulers unimportant
and makes earthly judges worth nothing.
24They have hardly been planted.
They have hardly been sown.
They have hardly taken root in the ground.
Then he blows on them and they wither,
and a windstorm sweeps them away like straw.
25“To whom, then, can you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26Look at the sky and see.
Who created these things?
Who brings out the stars one by one?
He calls them all by name.
Because of the greatness of his might and the strength of his power,
not one of them is missing.
27Jacob, why do you complain?
Israel, why do you say,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my rights are ignored by my God”?
28Don’t you know?
Haven’t you heard?
The eternal God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
doesn’t grow tired or become weary.
His understanding is beyond reach.
29He gives strength to those who grow tired
and increases the strength of those who are weak.
30Even young people grow tired and become weary,
and young men will stumble and fall.
31Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord
will be renewed.
They will soar on wings like eagles.
They will run and won’t become weary.
They will walk and won’t grow tired.
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Isaiah 40: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 40
40
Comfort for God’s People
1“Comfort; comfort my people,” says your God.
2“Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her,
that her compulsory labor is fulfilled, that her sin is paid for,
that she has received#Literally “taken” from the hand of Yahweh double for all her sins.”
3A voice is calling in the wilderness, “Clear the way of Yahweh!
Make a highway smooth in the desert for our God!
4Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill shall become low,
And the rough ground shall be like a plain,
and the rugged ground like a valley-plain.
5And the glory of Yahweh shall be revealed,
and all humankind#Literally “flesh” together shall see it,
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
6A voice is saying, “Call!”
And he said, “What shall I call?”
All humankind#Literally “flesh” are grass,
and all his loyalty is like the flowers of the field.
7Grass withers; the flower withers
when the breath of Yahweh blows on it.
Surely the people are grass.
8Grass withers; the flower withers,
but#Or “and” the word of our God will stand forever.
9Get yourself#Literally “Go for you” up to a high mountain, Zion, bringer of good news!
Lift up your voice with strength, Jerusalem, bringer of good news!
Lift it up; you must not fear!
Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
10Look! The Lord Yahweh comes with strength,#Literally “strong”
and his arm rules for him.
Look! His reward is with him,
and his recompense in his presence.#Literally “before his face”
11He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arm,
and he will carry them in his bosom;
he will lead those who nurse.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
comprehended the dust of the earth in a third of a measure
and weighed out the mountains in the scales,#Hebrew “scale” and the hills in a balance?
13Who has measured up the spirit of Yahweh
or informed him as his counselor#Literally “the man of his counsel”?
14With whom has he consulted, that#Or “and” he enlightened him#Or “made him understand”
and taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and made the way of understanding known to him?
15Look! The nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and they are counted like dust of the balances!
Look! He weighs the islands like a thin covering.
16And Lebanon is not enough to light a fire,
and its animals#Hebrew “animal” not enough for a burnt offering.
17All the nations are like nothing before him;
they are counted by him as#Or “from” nothing and emptiness.
18And to whom will you liken God?
And to what likeness will you compare him?
19A craftsman pours out the idol,
and a goldsmith#Literally “refiner” overlays it with gold,
and he smelts chains of silver.
20The one who is too impoverished for a gift chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks a skillful artisan for himself to set up an image that will not be knocked over.
21Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?#Literally “head”
Have you not understood from the foundation of the earth?
22He is the one who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
the one who stretches out the heavens like a veil
and spreads them out like a tent to live in,
23the one who brings#Or “gives” princes to nothing;
he makes rulers of the earth like nothing.
24Indeed, hardly are they planted; indeed, hardly are they sown;
indeed, hardly has their shoot taken root in the earth
when#Or “also” he blows on them and they wither,
and the tempest carries them like stubble.
25“And to whom you will compare me, and am I equal?” says the holy one.
26Lift your eyes up on high, and see! Who created these?
The one who brings out their host by number.
He calls all them by name.
Because he is great of power
and mighty of power, no man is missing.
27Why#Literally “To what” do you say, Jacob,
and you speak, Israel,
“My way is hidden from Yahweh,
and my judgment is passed over by my God?”
28Have you not known,
or have you not heard?
Yahweh is the God of eternity,
the creator of the ends of the earth!
He is not faint, and he does not grow weary!
There is no searching his understanding.
29He gives power to the weary,
and he increases power for the powerless.#Literally “not power”
30Even#Or “And” young people will be faint and grow weary,
and the young will stumble, exhausted.
31But#Or “And” those who wait for Yahweh shall renew their strength.
They shall go up with wings#Hebrew “wing” like eagles;
they shall run and not grow weary;
they shall walk and not be faint.
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