Isaiah 40

Israel’s Punishment Will End

1 Your God says,
“Comfort, comfort my people.

2 Speak kindly to the people of Jerusalem and tell them
that their time of service is finished, that they have paid for their sins,
that the Lord has punished Jerusalem twice for every sin they did.”

3 This is the voice of one who calls out:
“Prepare in the desert the way for the Lord.
Make a straight road in the dry lands for our God.

4 Every valley should be raised up, and every mountain and hill should be made flat.
The rough ground should be made level, and the rugged ground should be made smooth.

5 Then the glory of the Lord will be shown, and all people together will see it.
The Lord himself said these things.”

6 A voice says, “Cry out!” Then I said, “What shall I cry out?”
“Say all people are like the grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.

7 The grass dies and the flowers fall when the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are like grass.

8 The grass dies and the flowers fall, but the word of our God will live forever.”

9 Jerusalem, you have good news to tell. Go up on a high mountain.
Jerusalem, you have good news to tell. Shout out loud the good news.
Shout it out and don’t be afraid. Say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God.”

10 Look, the Lord God is coming with power to rule all the people.
Look, he will bring reward for his people; he will have their payment with him.

11 He takes care of his people like a shepherd. He gathers them like lambs in his arms and carries them close to him.
He gently leads the mothers of the lambs.

God Is Supreme

12 Who has measured the oceans in the palm of his hand? Who has used his hand to measure the sky?
Who has used a bowl to measure all the dust of the earth and scales to weigh the mountains and hills?

13 Who has known the mind of the Lord or been able to give him advice?

14 Whom did he ask for help? Who taught him the right way?
Who taught him knowledge and showed him the way to understanding?

15 The nations are like one small drop in a bucket; they are no more than the dust on his measuring scales. To him the islands are no more than fine dust on his scales.

16 All the trees in Lebanon are not enough for the altar fires, and all the animals in Lebanon are not enough for burnt offerings.

17 Compared to the Lord all the nations are worth nothing; to him they are less than nothing.

18 Can you compare God to anything? Can you compare him to an image of anything?

19 An idol is formed by a craftsman, and a goldsmith covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it.

20 A poor person cannot buy those expensive statues, so he finds a tree that will not rot.
Then he finds a skilled craftsman to make it into an idol that will not fall over.

21 Surely you know. Surely you have heard. Surely from the beginning someone told you. Surely you understand how the earth was created.

22 God sits on his throne above the circle of the earth, and compared to him, people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the skies like a piece of cloth and spreads them out like a tent to sit under.

23 He makes rulers unimportant and the judges of this world worth nothing.

24 They are like plants that are placed in the ground, like seeds that are planted.
As soon as they begin to grow strong, he blows on them and they die, and the wind blows them away like chaff.

25 God, the Holy One, says, “Can you compare me to anyone? Is anyone equal to me?”

26 Look up to the skies. Who created all these stars?
He leads out the army of heaven one by one and calls all the stars by name.
Because he is strong and powerful, not one of them is missing.

27 People of Jacob, why do you complain? People of Israel, why do you say,
“The Lord does not see what happens to me; he does not care if I am treated fairly”?

28 Surely you know. Surely you have heard.
The Lord is the God who lives forever, who created all the world.
He does not become tired or need to rest. No one can understand how great his wisdom is.

29 He gives strength to those who are tired and more power to those who are weak.

30 Even children become tired and need to rest, and young people trip and fall.

31 But the people who trust the Lord will become strong again.
They will rise up as an eagle in the sky; they will run and not need rest; they will walk and not become tired.

Isaiah 40

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, that she hath received of Jehovah’s hand double for all her sins.3 The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level 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 uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain:5 and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.6 The voice of one saying, Cry. And one 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 breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass.8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.9 O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, 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 Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have 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?13 Who hath directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor hath taught him?14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted 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 the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity.18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?19 The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains.20 He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.21 Have ye not known? have yet 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 above 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 princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.24 Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.25 To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One.26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking.27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and the justice due to me is passed away from my God?28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, 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 him that hath 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 for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.