Isaiah 40
40
God’s People Comforted
1“Comfort, comfort My people,” # Is 12:1; 49:13; 51:3,12; 52:9; 61:2; 66:13; Jr 31:10-14; Zph 3:14-17; 2Co 1:4
says your God.
2“Speak tenderly to # Lit Speak to the heart of Jerusalem,
and announce to her
that her time of forced labor is over,
her iniquity # Is 13:11 has been pardoned, # Lv 26:41,43; Is 27:9
and she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.” # Ex 22:7-8; Jr 16:18; Zch 9:12; Rv 18:6
3A voice of one crying out:
Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; # Mal 3:1; 4:5-6
make a straight highway for our God in the desert. # Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4; Jn 1:23
4Every valley will be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled;
the uneven ground will become smooth
and the rough places, a plain. # Lk 3:5-6
5And the glory of the Lord will appear, # Is 35:2
and all humanity # Lit flesh together will see it, # Is 52:10; Jl 2:28
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. # Is 1:20; 34:16; 58:14
6A voice was saying, “Cry out! ”
Another # DSS, LXX, Vg read I said, “What should I cry out? ”
“All humanity is grass, # 1Pt 1:24-25
and all its goodness is like the flower of the field. # Jb 14:2; Ps 102:11; 103:15
7The grass withers, the flowers fade
when the breath # Or wind, or Spirit of the Lord blows on them; # Lit it
indeed, the people are grass.
8The grass withers, the flowers fade, # Jms 1:11
but the word of our God remains forever.” # Is 55:11; 59:21; Mk 13:31; Lk 21:33
9Zion, herald of good news,
go up on a high mountain. # Is 52:7
Jerusalem, herald of good news, # Is 61:1
raise your voice loudly.
Raise it, do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God! ” # Is 25:9; 35:2
10See, the Lord God comes with strength,
and His power establishes His rule. # Is 59:16-18
His reward is with Him, # Is 62:11; Rv 22:12
and His gifts accompany Him.
11He protects His flock like a shepherd; # Jr 31:10; Ezk 34:12-14,23,31; Mc 5:4; Jn 10:11,14-16
He gathers the lambs in His arms
and carries them in the fold of His garment.
He gently leads those that are nursing.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? # Is 48:13; Heb 1:10-12
Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure
or weighed the mountains in a balance
and the hills in the scales?
13Who has directed # Or measured, or comprehended the Spirit of the Lord,
or who gave Him His counsel? # Rm 11:34; 1Co 2:16
14Who did He consult with?
Who gave Him understanding # Jb 21:22; Col 2:3
and taught Him the paths of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge
and showed Him the way of understanding?
15Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered as a speck of dust in the scales;
He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
16Lebanon is not enough for fuel,
or its animals enough for a burnt offering. # Ps 50:9-11; Mc 6:6-7; Heb 10:5-9
17All the nations are as nothing before Him;
they are considered by Him
as nothingness and emptiness. # Is 29:7
18Who will you compare God with?
What likeness will you compare Him to? # Ex 8:10; 15:11; 1Sm 2:2; Is 40:25; 46:5; Mc 7:18; Ac 17:29
19To an idol? — something that a smelter casts,
and a metalworker plates with gold
and makes silver welds for it? # Is 2:20; 30:22; 41:7; 44:10
20To one who shapes a pedestal,
choosing wood that does not rot? # Or who is too poor for such an offering, or who chooses mulberry wood as a votive gift ; Hb obscure
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not fall over. # 1Sm 5:3; Is 44:9-15; 46:6-7; Jr 10:3-5
21Do you not know? # Ps 19:1; 50:6; Is 37:26; Ac 14:17; Rm 1:19-20
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you
from the beginning?
Have you not considered
the foundations of the earth? # Is 48:13; 51:13
22God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. # Nm 13:33
He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth # Jb 9:8; Is 37:16; 42:5; 44:24
and spreads them out like a tent to live in. # Jb 36:29; Ps 18:11; 19:4; 104:2
23He reduces princes to nothing # Jb 12:21; Ps 107:40; Is 34:12
and makes judges of the earth irrational.
24They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when He blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble. # Ps 1:4; Is 41:2,16; 64:6; Ezk 17:10,24; Nah 1:4
25“Who will you compare Me to, # Is 46:5; Ac 17:29
or who is My equal? ” asks the Holy One.
26Look up # Lit Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created # Is 42:5; 48:12-13 these?
He brings out the starry host by number;
He calls all of them by name. # Ps 147:4-5
Because of His great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.
27Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”? # Is 7:13; 49:4,14
28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God, # Gn 21:33; Ps 90:2
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never grows faint or weary;
there is no limit to His understanding. # Ps 147:5; Rm 11:33
29He gives strength to the weary
and strengthens the powerless.
30Youths may faint and grow weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength; # Jb 17:9; Ps 103:5; 2Co 4:8-10,16; 12:9
they will soar on wings like eagles; # Ex 19:4; Dt 32:11; Lk 18:1; 2Co 4:1,16; Gl 6:9; Heb 12:3
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint.
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Isaiah 40: HCSB
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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
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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