Isaiah 40

1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.

2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”

3 A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.

4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.

5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

6 A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.

7 The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.

8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

9 Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.

11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?

13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor?

14 Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding?

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

16 Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.

17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.

18 To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?

19 To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

20 One lacking such an offering chooses wood that will not rot. He seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.

21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?

22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

23 He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.

24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.

25 “To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”?

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.

29 He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.

31 But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

1 ¶ Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith 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.

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.

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:

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].

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:

7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass.

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

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!

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.

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.

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?

13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counsellor hath taught him?

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?

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.

16 And Lebanon [is] not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

18 ¶ To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

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.

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?

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:

23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

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.

25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith 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.

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?

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.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly 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.

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

2 Speak kindly unto Jerusalem, and preach unto her, that her reign is ended; for her iniquity is forgiven: for she hath received double from the hand of the LORD for all her sin.

3 It is the voice of a preacher in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make ye a level path in the land for our God.

4 All valleys shall be exalted, and all mountains and hills shall be made low; and that which is unequal shall be made level, and that which is crooked shall be made plain.

5 For the glory of the LORD shall be revealed; and all flesh together shall see that the mouth of the LORD speaketh].

6 And a voice saith, Preach. And he said, What shall I preach? All flesh is hay, and all his goodness is as a flower of the field.

7 The hay withereth, the flower fadeth: for the Spirit of the LORD bloweth in it. Yea, the people are the hay.

8 The hay withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God endureth for ever.

9 Zion, thou preacher, arise upon a high mountain. Jerusalem, thou preacher, lift up thy voice with power, lift up and fear not; say to the cities of Judah, Behold, there is your God!

10 For, behold, the Lord GOD cometh mightily; and his arm shall reign. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense is before him.

11 He shall feed his flock as a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs into his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and lead the mothers of the sheep.

12 Who hath measured the waters with a fist, and hath compassed the heavens with a span, and comprehended the earth with a dreiling, and weighed the mountains with a weight, and the hills with a balance?

13 Who instructeth the spirit of the LORD, and what counsellor instructeth him?

14 Whom shall he ask counsel of, that may give him understanding, and teach him the way of judgment, and teach him knowledge, and instruct him in the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the heathen are esteemed as a drop that remaineth in the bucket, and as a mite that remaineth in the balance. Behold, the isles are as the small sticks.

16 Lebanon was too small for fire, and his beasts too small for burnt offering.

17 All the heathen are nothing before him, and are esteemed as vain and empty.

18 Whom then will ye liken God unto, or what likeness will ye make unto him?

19 The master maketh an image, and the goldsmith gildeth it, and maketh silver chains thereunto.

20 Likewise he that is able to make a poor heave, let him choose a wood that rotteth not, and let him seek a wise master to make an image that will stand the test of time.

21 Know ye not? Hear ye not? Is it not declared unto you before? Have ye not understood it from the foundation of the earth?

21 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength, that they may mount up as eagles, that they may run, and not be weary, that they may walk, and not be faint.

22 He sitteth upon the circle of the earth; and they that dwell therein are as locusts. Who stretcheth out the heavens like a thin skin, and spreadeth them out like a tabernacle to dwell in;

23 Which destroyeth princes, and maketh vain the judges of the earth,

24 As if their tribe had neither plant, nor seed, nor root in the earth; so that, when a wind bloweth among them, they wither, and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.

25 Whom then will ye liken me to? saith the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold. Who hath created these things, and brought forth their host by number? He that calleth them all by name: so great is his ability, and so great is his might, that there is no lack of one.

27 Wherefore then sayest thou, O Jacob, and thou, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment passeth before my God?

28 Don't you know? Hast thou not heard? The LORD, the eternal God, who created the ends of the earth, is not weary nor faint; his understanding is unfathomable.

29 He giveth strength to the weary, and power enough to the impotent.

30 The lads grow weary and faint, and the young men fall;