Isaiah 40

Comfort for God's People

1 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.

2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.

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

4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.

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

6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.

7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.

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

9 You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”

10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, 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 those that have young.

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

13 Who has understood the mind of the Lord,
or instructed him as his counselor?

14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge
or showed him the path of understanding?

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.

17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.

18 To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to?

19 As for an idol, a craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.

20 A man too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot.
He looks for 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 told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

25 “To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded 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,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

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

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

31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

ISAIAH 40

Encourage God's People

1 Our God has said:
“Encourage my people!
Give them comfort.

2 Speak kindly to Jerusalem
and announce:
Your slavery is past;
your punishment is over.
I, the [Lord], made you pay
double for your sins.”

3  t t Someone is shouting:
“Clear a path in the desert!
Make a straight road
for the [Lord] our God.

4 Fill in the valleys;
flatten every hill
and mountain.
Level the rough
and rugged ground.

5 Then the glory of the [Lord]
will appear for all to see.
The [Lord] has promised this!”

6  t 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.

7 At the [Lord]'s command,
flowers and grass disappear,
and so do we.

8 Flowers and grass fade away,
but what our God has said
will never change.

Your God Is Here!

9 There is good news
for the city of Zion.
Shout it as loud as you cant
from the highest mountain.
Don't be afraid to shout
to the towns of Judah:
“Your God is here!”

10  t 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  t 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?

12 Did 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  t Has anyone told the [Lord]t
what he must do
or given him advice?

14 Did the [Lord] ask anyone
to teach him wisdom
and justice?
Who gave him knowledge
and understanding?

15  t 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.

16 The 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.

17 God thinks of the nations
as far less than nothing.

18  t Who compares with God?
Is anything like him?

19 Is an idol at all like God?
It is made of bronze
with a thin layer of gold,
and decorated with silver.

20  t Or special wood may be chosent
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

21 Don't you know?
Haven't you heard?
Hasn't it been clear
since the time of creation?t

22 God 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.

23 God brings down rulers
and turns them into nothing.

24 They 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.

25 The holy God asks,
“Who compares with me?
Is anyone my equal?”

26  t 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

27 You 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?

28 Don'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.

29 The [Lord] gives strength
to those who are weary.

30 Even young people get tired,
then stumble and fall.

31 But 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.