Isaiah 40
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem; and proclaim to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received double from Yahweh's hand for all her sins.”
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
A voice cries out, “In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh; make straight in the Arabah a highway for our God.”
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; and the rugged land will be made level, and the rough places a plain;
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it].
and the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all people will see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh [is] grass, and all the goodliness thereof [is] as the flower of the field:
A voice says, “Cry.” Another answers, “What should I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all their covenant faithfulness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass.
The grass withers and the flower wilts when the breath of Yahweh blows on it; surely humanity is grass.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
The grass withers, the flower wilts, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift [it] up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
Go up on a high mountain, Zion, bearer of good news. Shout out loud, Jerusalem. You who bring good news, raise your voice, do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong [hand], and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him.
Look, the Lord Yahweh comes as a victorious warrior, and his strong arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and those he has rescued go before him.
11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry [them] in his bosom, [and] shall gently lead those that are with young.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather in his arm the lambs, and carry them close to his heart, and will gently lead the ewes nursing their young.
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, measured the sky with the span of his hand, held the dust of the earth in a basket, weighed the mountains in scales, or the hills in a balance?
13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counsellor hath taught him?
Who has comprehended the mind of Yahweh, or instructed him as his counselor?
14 With whom took he counsel, and [who] instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
From whom did he ever receive instruction? Who taught him the correct way to do things, and taught him knowledge, or showed to him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations [are] as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded like the dust on the scales; see, he weighs the isles as a speck.
16 And Lebanon [is] not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor its wild animals sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
All the nations are insufficient before him; they are regarded by him as nothing.
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
To whom then will you compare God? To what idol will you liken him?
19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
An idol! A craftsman casts it: The goldsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it.
20 He that [is] so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree [that] will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, [that] shall not be moved.
To make an offering one chooses a wood that will not rot; he seeks a skillful artisan to make an idol that will not fall over.
21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
He is the one who sits above the horizon of the earth; and the inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out as a tent to live in.
23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
He reduces rulers to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth insignificant.
24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem has barely taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them and they wither, and the wind carries them away like straw.
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
“To whom then will you compare me, whom do I resemble?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things], that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth.
Look up at the sky! Who has created all these stars? He leads out their formations and calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might and by the strength of his power, not one is missing.
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
Why do you say, Jacob, and declare, Israel, “My way is hidden from Yahweh, and my God is not concerned about my vindication”?
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.
He gives strength to the tired; and to the weak he gives renewed energy.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Even young people become tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall:
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.
but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength; they will soar with wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary; they will walk and not faint.
