Isaiah 40
40
1Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God.
2Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her, That her warfare hath been completed, That accepted hath been her punishment, That she hath received from the hand of Jehovah Double for all her sins.
3A voice is crying — in a wilderness — Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, Make straight in a desert a highway to our God.
4Every valley is raised up, And every mountain and hill become low, And the crooked place hath become a plain, And the entangled places a valley.
5And revealed hath been the honour of Jehovah, And seen [it] have all flesh together, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.
6A voice is saying, ‘Call,’ And he said, ‘What do I call?’ All flesh [is] grass, and all its goodliness [is] As a flower of the field:
7Withered hath grass, faded the flower, For the Spirit of Jehovah blew upon it, Surely the people [is] grass;
8Withered hath grass, faded the flower, But a word of our God riseth for ever.
9On a high mountain get thee up, O Zion, Proclaiming tidings, Lift up with power thy voice, O Jerusalem, proclaiming tidings, Lift up, fear not, say to cities of Judah, ‘Lo, your God.’
10Lo, the Lord Jehovah with strength cometh, And His arm is ruling for Him, Lo, His hire [is] with Him, and His wage before Him.
11As a shepherd His flock He feedeth, With His arm He gathereth lambs, And in His bosom He carrieth [them]: Suckling ones He leadeth.
12Who hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters? And the heavens by a span hath meted out, And comprehended in a measure the dust of the earth, And hath weighed in scales the mountains, And the hills in a balance?
13Who hath meted out the Spirit of Jehovah, And, [being] His counsellor, doth teach Him!
14With whom consulted He, That he causeth Him to understand? And teacheth Him in the path of judgment, And teacheth Him knowledge? And the way of understanding causeth Him to know?
15Lo, nations as a drop from a bucket, And as small dust of the balance, have been reckoned, Lo, isles as a small thing He taketh up.
16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt-offering.
17All the nations [are] as nothing before Him, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him.
18And unto whom do ye liken God, And what likeness do ye compare to Him?
19The graven image poured out hath a artisan, And a refiner with gold spreadeth it over, And chains of silver he is refining.
20He who is poor [by] heave-offerings, A tree not rotten doth choose, A skilful artisan he seeketh for it, To establish a graven image — not moved.
21Do ye not know — do ye not hear? Hath it not been declared from the first to you? Have ye not understood [From] the foundations of the earth?
22He who is sitting on the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants [are] as grasshoppers, He who is stretching out as a thin thing the heavens, And spreadeth them as a tent to dwell in.
23He who is making princes become nothing, Judges of earth as emptiness hath made;
24Yea, they have not been planted, Yea, they have not been sown, Yea, not taking root in the earth is their stock, And also He hath blown upon them, and they wither, And a whirlwind as stubble taketh them away.
25And unto whom do ye liken Me, And [am] I equal? saith the Holy One.
26Lift up on high your eyes, And see — who hath prepared these? He who is bringing out by number their host, To all of them by name He calleth, By abundance of strength (And [he is] strong in power) not one is lacking.
27Why sayest thou, O Jacob? and speakest thou, O Israel? ‘My way hath been hid from Jehovah, And from my God my judgment passeth over.’
28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? The God of the age — Jehovah, Preparer of the ends of the earth, Is not wearied nor fatigued, There is no searching of His understanding.
29He is giving power to the weary, And to those not strong He increaseth might.
30Even youths are wearied and fatigued, And young men utterly stumble,
31But those expecting Jehovah pass [to] power, They raise up the pinion as eagles, They run and are not fatigued, They go on and do not faint!
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Isaiah 40: YLT98
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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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