⁶ A voice says, “Call out.”
Then ^[a]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
^(A)All flesh is grass, and all its ^[b]loveliness is like the flower of the field.
⁷ The ^(B)grass withers, the flower fades,
^[c]When the ^(C)breath of the Lord blows upon it;
The people are indeed grass!
⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades,
But ^(D)the word of our God stands forever.

⁹ Go up on a ^(E)high mountain,
Zion, messenger of ^(F)good news,
Raise your voice forcefully,
Jerusalem, messenger of good news;
Raise it up, do not fear.
Say to the ^(G)cities of Judah,
“^(H)Here is your God!”
¹⁰ Behold, the Lord ^[d]God will come ^(I)with might,
With His ^(J)arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His ^(K)compensation is with Him,
And His reward before Him.
¹¹ Like a shepherd He will ^(L)tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in the fold of His robe;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

¹² Who has ^(M)measured the ^[e]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And measured the heavens with a ^[f]span,
And ^[g]calculated the dust of the earth with a measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
^13 (N)Who has ^[h]directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His ^(O)counselor has informed Him?
^14 (P)With whom did He consult and who ^(Q)gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge,
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
¹⁵ Behold, the ^(R)nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of ^(S)dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the ^[i]islands like fine dust.
¹⁶ Even Lebanon is not enough to ^[j]burn,
Nor its ^(T)animals enough for a burnt offering.
^17 (U)All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and ^[k]meaningless.

^18 (V)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
¹⁹ As for the ^[l](W)idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith ^(X)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
²⁰ He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a ^(Y)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To ^[m]prepare ^[n]an idol that ^(Z)will not totter.

^21 (AA)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood ^(AB)from the foundations of the earth?
²² It is He who ^[o]sits above the ^[p](AC)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like ^(AD)grasshoppers,
Who ^(AE)stretches out the heavens like a ^(AF)curtain
And spreads them out like a ^(AG)tent to live in.
²³ It is He who reduces ^(AH)rulers to nothing,
Who ^(AI)makes the judges of the earth ^[q]meaningless.
^24 [r]Scarcely have they been planted,
^[s]Scarcely have they been sown,
^[t]Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the ^(AJ)storm carries them away like stubble.
²⁵ “^(AK)To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
^26 (AL)Raise your eyes on high
And see ^(AM)who has created these stars,
The ^(AN)One who brings out their ^[u]multitude by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the ^(AO)greatness of His might and the ^[v]strength of His power,
^(AP)Not one of them is missing.

^27 (AQ)Why do you say, Jacob, and you assert, Israel,
“My way is ^(AR)hidden from the Lord,
And the ^(AS)justice due me ^[w]escapes the notice of ^(AT)my God”?
^28 (AU)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The ^(AV)Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is ^(AW)unsearchable.
²⁹ He gives strength to the ^(AX)weary,
And to the one who lacks might He ^(AY)increases power.
³⁰ Though ^(AZ)youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous ^(BA)young men stumble badly,
³¹ Yet those who ^[x]wait for the Lord
Will ^(BB)gain new strength;
They will ^[y](BC)mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.