Isaiah 40
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
“Comfort, yes comfort my people!” says your God.
2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her time of suffering is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.
“Speak lovingly to the people of Jerusalem, telling them that their hard times are over, that their sins have been forgiven, and that the Lord has paid them twice over for their sins.”
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God!
A voice is heard calling, “Prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make a straight highway for our God through the desert.
4 Every valley shall be raised up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places a plain.
Fill in all the valleys; level all the mountains and hills; smooth out the uneven ground; make the rough places flat.
5 And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.
The Lord's glory will be revealed, and everyone will see it together. This is what the Lord has declared.”
6 A voice saith, Cry. And he saith, What shall I cry? — All flesh is grass, and all the comeliness thereof as the flower of the field.
A voice is heard saying, “Shout it out.” I asked, “What shall I shout?” “All human beings are like grass, and all their trustworthiness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, for the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
The grass wilts and the flower fades when the Lord's breathes on them. Yes, the people are grass!
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God abideth for ever.
However, even though the grass wilts and the flower fades, the word of our God will endure forever.”
9 O Zion, that bringest glad tidings, get thee up into a high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest glad tidings, lift up thy voice with strength: lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
Zion, bringer of good news, go up a high mountain. Jerusalem, bringer of good news, raise your voice and shout out loud. Don't be afraid to shout really loud! Tell the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come with might, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompence before him.
Look! The Lord God is coming with power! He will rule with a firm hand. Look! He's bringing his reward with him, coming to give his gift.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd: he will gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom; he will gently lead those that give suck.
He looks after his flock like a shepherd. He picks up the lambs in his arms and holds them close to his chest. He leads those that are nursing young.
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with [his] span, and grasped the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in scales?
Who has measured the waters he holds in the palm of his hand? Who has marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has worked out the amount of dust of the earth? Who has weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?
13 Who hath directed the Spirit of Jehovah, and, [as] his counsellor, hath taught him?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or taught him what to do as his counselor?
14 With whom took he counsel, and [who] gave him intelligence, and instructed him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?
Who did the Lord go to for advice to help him understand? Who taught him right from wrong? Who gave him knowledge and showed him the way of wisdom?
15 Behold, the nations are esteemed as a drop of the bucket, and as the fine dust on the scales; behold, he taketh up the isles as an atom.
It's obvious that the nations are just a drop in a bucket. They're like dust on a set of scales. He can pick up islands as if they weigh next to nothing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.
All the wood in Lebanon for a fire and all its animals as a sacrifice wouldn't be enough a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him; they are esteemed by him less than a cipher, and vanity.
To him all the nations are like nothing. He counts them as less than nothing—like they don't exist.
18 To whom then will ye liken God? and what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Who do you think is like God? What image do you think he looks like?
19 The workman casteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains [for it].
Is he a metal idol that a craftsman casts in a mold, and then a goldsmith overlays it with gold and makes silver chains for it?
20 He that is impoverished, so that he hath no offering, chooseth a tree that doth not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilled workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved.
Those who are too poor to pay for that choose wood that won't rot, then they look for a skilled wood-carver to make an idol that won't fall over.
21 — Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundation of the earth?
Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Hasn't it been explained to you from the very beginning? Haven't you understood from the time the world was created?
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 gauze curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
God sits on his throne above the horizon of the earth; the people that live there are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, spreading them out like a tent to live in.
23 that bringeth the princes to nothing, that maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
He brings leaders down; he makes the rulers of the world like nothing.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely hath their stock taken root in the earth, but he also bloweth upon them and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.
In fact they are hardly even planted, hardly even sown, hardly even taken root, when he blows on 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.
“Who are you going to compare me with? Who is equal to me?” asks the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see! Who hath created these things, bringing out their host by number? He calleth them all by name; through the greatness of his might and strength of power, not one faileth.
Look at the heavens. Who created all this? He leads the stars like an army, and calls each one by name. Because he has great power and incredible strength, not a single one of them is missing.
27 Why sayest thou, Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and my right is passed away from my God?
Why do you speak like this, Jacob, and why do you say, Israel, “The Lord doesn't see what's happening to me, and he's ignoring my rights!”
28 Dost thou not know, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not nor tireth? There is no searching of his understanding.
Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The Lord is the eternal God, the Creator of the whole earth. He's never weak or tired; you can't find out all he knows.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength.
He gives strength to the weary and power the powerless.
30 Even the youths shall faint and shall tire, and the young men shall stumble and fall;
Even young people grow weak and tired—they fall down when they're exhausted.
31 but they that wait upon Jehovah shall renew [their] strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not tire; they shall walk, and not faint.
But those who trust in the Lord will have their strength renewed. They will fly high with wings like eagles. They will run and not be tired. They will walk and not be worn out.
