Isaiah 40

God’s People Comforted

¹“Comfort, comfort my people,” ^a

says your God.

²“Speak tenderly to ^b Jerusalem,

and announce to her

that her time of hard service is over,

her iniquity ^c has been pardoned, ^d

and she has received from the Lord’s hand

double for all her sins.” ^e

³A voice of one crying out:

Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; ^f

make a straight highway for our God in the desert. ^g

⁴Every valley will be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill will be leveled;

the uneven ground will become smooth

and the rough places, a plain. ^h

⁵And the glory of the Lord will appear, ⁱ

and all humanity ^j together will see it, ^k

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. ^l

⁶A voice was saying, “Cry out! ”

Another said, ^m “What should I cry out? ”

“All humanity is grass, ⁿ

and all its goodness is like the flower of the field. ^o

⁷The grass withers, the flowers fade

when the breath ^p of the Lord blows on them; ^q

indeed, the people are grass.

⁸The grass withers, the flowers fade, ^r

but the word of our God remains forever.” ^s

⁹Zion, herald of good news,

go up on a high mountain. ^t

Jerusalem, herald of good news, ^u

raise your voice loudly.

Raise it, do not be afraid!

Say to the cities of Judah,

“Here is your God! ” ^v

¹⁰See, the Lord God comes with strength,

and his power establishes his rule. ^w

His wages are with him, ^x

and his reward accompanies him.

¹¹He protects his flock like a shepherd; ^y

he gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them in the fold of his garment.

He gently leads those that are nursing.

¹²Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand

or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? ^z

Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure

or weighed the mountains on a balance

and the hills on the scales?

¹³Who has directed ^aa the Spirit of the Lord,

or who gave him counsel? ^ab

¹⁴Who did he consult?

Who gave him understanding ^ac

and taught him the paths of justice?

Who taught him knowledge

and showed him the way of understanding?

¹⁵Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;

he lifts up the islands like fine dust.

¹⁶Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel,

or its animals enough for a burnt offering. ^ad

¹⁷All the nations are as nothing before him;

they are considered by him

as empty nothingness. ^ae

¹⁸With whom will you compare God?

What likeness will you set up for comparison with him? ^af

¹⁹An idol? #— #something that a smelter casts

and a metalworker plates with gold

and makes silver chains for? ^ag

²⁰A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal

that will not rot. ^ah

He looks for a skilled craftsman

to set up an idol that will not fall over. ^ai

²¹Do you not know? ^aj

Have you not heard?

Has it not been declared to you

from the beginning?

Have you not considered

the foundations of the earth? ^ak

²²God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;

its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. ^al

He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth ^am

and spreads them out like a tent to live in. ^an

²³He reduces princes to nothing ^ao

and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.

²⁴They are barely planted, barely sown,

their stem hardly takes root in the ground

when he blows on them and they wither,

and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble. ^ap

²⁵“To whom will you compare me, ^aq

or who is my equal? ” asks the Holy One.

²⁶Look up and see!

Who created ^ar these?

He brings out the stars by number;

he calls all of them by name. ^as

Because of his great power and strength,

not one of them is missing.

²⁷Jacob, why do you say,

and Israel, why do you assert,

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

and my claim is ignored by my God”? ^at

²⁸Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, ^au

the Creator of the whole earth.

He never becomes faint or weary;

there is no limit to his understanding. ^av

²⁹He gives strength to the faint

and strengthens the powerless.

³⁰Youths may become faint and weary,

and young men stumble and fall,

³¹but those who trust in the Lord

will renew their strength; ^aw

they will soar on wings like eagles; ^ax

they will run and not become weary,

they will walk and not faint.