Isaiah 40:18-31

New American Standard Bible

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

²¹^(F)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood ^(G)from the foundations of the earth?
²²It is He who ^[d]sits above the ^[e]^(H)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like ^(I)grasshoppers,
Who ^(J)stretches out the heavens like a ^(K)curtain
And spreads them out like a ^(L)tent to live in.
²³It is He who reduces ^(M)rulers to nothing,
Who ^(N)makes the judges of the earth ^[f]meaningless.
²⁴^[g]Scarcely have they been planted,
^[h]Scarcely have they been sown,
^[i]Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the ^(O)storm carries them away like stubble.
²⁵“^(P)To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
²⁶^(Q)Raise your eyes on high
And see ^(R)who has created these stars,
The ^(S)One who brings out their ^[j]multitude by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the ^(T)greatness of His might and the ^[k]strength of His power,
^(U)Not one of them is missing.

²⁷^(V)Why do you say, Jacob, and you assert, Israel,
“My way is ^(W)hidden from the Lord,
And the ^(X)justice due me ^[l]escapes the notice of ^(Y)my God”?
²⁸^(Z)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The ^(AA)Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is ^(AB)unsearchable.
²⁹He gives strength to the ^(AC)weary,
And to the one who lacks might He ^(AD)increases power.
³⁰Though ^(AE)youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous ^(AF)young men stumble badly,
³¹Yet those who ^[m]wait for the Lord
Will ^(AG)gain new strength;
They will ^[n]^(AH)mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.