Isaiæ 40
1 Consolamini, consolamini popule meus, dicit Deus vester.
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
2 Loquimini ad cor Ierusalem, et advocate eam: quoniam completa est malitia eius, dimissa est iniquitas illius: suscepit de manu Domini duplicia pro omnibus peccatis suis.
“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 Vox clamantis in deserto: Parate viam Domini, rectas facite in solitudine semitas Dei nostri.
A voice cries out, “In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh; make straight in the Arabah a highway for our God.”
4 Omnis vallis exaltabitur, et omnis mons et collis humiliabitur, et erunt prava in directa, et aspera in vias planas.
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 Et revelabitur gloria Domini, et videbit omnis caro pariter quod os Domini locutum est.
and the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all people will see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.
6 Vox dicentis: Clama. Et dixi: Quid clamabo? Omnis caro fœnum, et omnis gloria eius quasi flos agri.
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 Exiccatum est fœnum, et cecidit flos, quia spiritus Domini sufflavit in eo. Vere fœnum est populus:
The grass withers and the flower wilts when the breath of Yahweh blows on it; surely humanity is grass.
8 exiccatum est fœnum, et cecidit flos: Verbum autem Domini nostri manet in æternum.
The grass withers, the flower wilts, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
9 Super montem excelsum ascende, tu qui evangelizas Sion: exalta in fortitudine vocem tuam, qui evangelizas Ierusalem: exalta, noli timere. Dic civitatibus Iuda: Ecce Deus vester:
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 ecce Dominus Deus in fortitudine veniet, et brachium eius dominabitur: ecce merces eius cum eo, et opus illius coram illo.
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 Sicut pastor gregem suum pascet: in brachio suo congregabit agnos, et in sinu suo levabit, fœtas ipse portabit.
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 Quis mensus est pugillo aquas, et cælos palmo ponderavit? Quis appendit tribus digitis molem terræ, et liberavit in pondere montes, et colles in statera?
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 Quis adiuvit spiritum Domini? Aut quis consiliarius eius fuit, et ostendit illi?
Who has comprehended the mind of Yahweh, or instructed him as his counselor?
14 Cum quo iniit consilium? Et instruxit eum, et docuit eum semitam iustitiæ, et erudivit eum scientiam, et viam prudentiæ ostendit illi?
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 Ecce gentes quasi stilla situlæ, et quasi momentum stateræ reputatæ sunt: ecce insulæ quasi pulvis exiguus.
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 Et Libanus non sufficiet ad succendendum, et animalia eius non sufficient ad holocaustum.
Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor its wild animals sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 Omnes gentes quasi non sint, sic sunt coram eo, et quasi nihilum et inane reputatæ sunt ei.
All the nations are insufficient before him; they are regarded by him as nothing.
18 Cui ergo similem fecisti Deum? Aut quam imaginem ponetis ei?
To whom then will you compare God? To what idol will you liken him?
19 Numquid sculptile conflavit faber? Aut aurifex auro figuravit illud, et laminis argenteis argentarius?
An idol! A craftsman casts it: The goldsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it.
20 Forte lignum, et imputribile elegit: artifex sapiens quærit quomodo statuat simulacrum, quod non moveatur.
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 Numquid non scitis? Numquid non audistis? Numquid non annunciatum est vobis ab initio? Numquid non intellexistis fundamenta terræ?
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 Qui sedet super gyrum terræ, et habitatores eius sunt quasi locustæ: qui extendit velut nihilum cælos, et expandit eos sicut tabernaculum ad inhabitandum.
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 Qui dat secretorum scrutatores quasi non sint, iudices terræ velut inane fecit:
He reduces rulers to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth insignificant.
24 et quidem neque plantatus, neque satus, neque radicatus in terra truncus eorum: repente flavit in eos, et aruerunt, et turbo quasi stipulam auferet eos.
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 Et cui assimilastis me, et adæquastis, dicit Sanctus?
“To whom then will you compare me, whom do I resemble?” says the Holy One.
26 Levate in excelsum oculos vestros, et videte quis creavit hæc: qui educit in numero militiam eorum, et omnes ex nomine vocat: præ multitudine fortitudinis et roboris, virtutisque eius, neque unum reliquum fuit.
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 Quare dicis Iacob, et loqueris Israel: Abscondita est via mea a Domino, et a Deo meo iudicium meum transivit?
Why do you say, Jacob, and declare, Israel, “My way is hidden from Yahweh, and my God is not concerned about my vindication”?
28 Numquid nescis, aut non audisti? Deus sempiternus Dominus, qui creavit terminos terræ: non deficiet, neque laborabit, nec est investigatio sapientiæ eius.
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 Qui dat lasso virtutem: et his, qui non sunt, fortitudinem et robur multiplicat.
He gives strength to the tired; and to the weak he gives renewed energy.
30 Deficient pueri, et laborabunt, et iuvenes in infirmitate cadent.
Even young people become tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall:
31 Qui autem sperant in Domino, mutabunt fortitudinem, assument pennas sicut aquilæ, current et non laborabunt, ambulabunt et non deficient.
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.
