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Words of Hope

40 “Comfort my people,” says our God. “Comfort them!
Encourage the people of Jerusalem.
Tell them they have suffered long enough
    and their sins are now forgiven.[a]
I have punished them in full for all their sins.”

(A)A voice cries out,
“Prepare in the wilderness a road for the Lord!
    Clear the way in the desert for our God!
Fill every valley;
    level every mountain.
The hills will become a plain,
    and the rough country will be made smooth.
Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it.
The Lord himself has promised this.”

(B)A voice cries out, “Proclaim a message!”
“What message shall I proclaim?” I ask.
“Proclaim that all human beings are like grass;
    they last no longer than wild flowers.
Grass withers and flowers fade
    when the Lord sends the wind blowing over them.
    People are no more enduring than grass.
Yes, grass withers and flowers fade,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

Jerusalem, go up on a high mountain
    and proclaim the good news!
Call out with a loud voice, Zion;
    announce the good news![b]
Speak out and do not be afraid.
Tell the towns of Judah
    that their God is coming!

10 (C)The Sovereign Lord is coming to rule with power,
    bringing with him the people he has rescued.[c]
11 (D)He will take care of his flock like a shepherd;
    he will gather the lambs together
    and carry them in his arms;
    he will gently lead their mothers.

Israel's Incomparable God

12 Can anyone measure the ocean by handfuls
    or measure the sky with his hands?
Can anyone hold the soil of the earth in a cup
    or weigh the mountains and hills on scales?
13 (E)Can anyone tell the Lord what to do?
    Who can teach him or give him advice?
14 With whom does God consult
    in order to know and understand
    and to learn how things should be done?

15 (F)To the Lord the nations are nothing,
    no more than a drop of water;
    the distant islands are as light as dust.
16 All the animals in the forests of Lebanon
    are not enough for a sacrifice to our God,
    and its trees are too few to kindle the fire.
17 The nations are nothing at all to him.

18 (G)To whom can God be compared?
    How can you describe what he is like?
19 He is not like an idol that workers make,
    that metalworkers cover with gold
    and set in a base of silver.
20 (H)Anyone who cannot afford silver or gold[d]
    chooses wood that will not rot.
He finds a skillful worker
    to make an image that won't fall down.

21 Do you not know?
    Were you not told long ago?
    Have you not heard how the world began?
22 It was made by the one who sits on his throne
    above the earth and beyond the sky;
    the people below look as tiny as ants.
He stretched out the sky like a curtain,
    like a tent in which to live.

23 He brings down powerful rulers
    and reduces them to nothing.
24 They are like young plants,
    just set out and barely rooted.
When the Lord sends a wind,
    they dry up and blow away like straw.

25 To whom can the holy God be compared?
    Is there anyone else like him?
26 (I)Look up at the sky!
Who created the stars you see?
    The one who leads them out like an army,
    he knows how many there are
    and calls each one by name!
His power is so great—
    not one of them is ever missing!

27 Israel, why then do you complain
    that the Lord doesn't know your troubles
    or care if you suffer injustice?
28 Don't you know? Haven't you heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God;
    he created all the world.
He never grows tired or weary.
    No one understands his thoughts.
29 He strengthens those who are weak and tired.
30 Even those who are young grow weak;
    young people can fall exhausted.
31 But those who trust in the Lord for help
    will find their strength renewed.
They will rise on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not get weary;
    they will walk and not grow weak.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:2 and their sins are now forgiven; or they have paid for what they did.
  2. Isaiah 40:9 Jerusalem, go up … news!; or Go up on a high mountain and proclaim the good news to Jerusalem! Call out with a loud voice and announce the good news to Zion!
  3. Isaiah 40:10 the people he has rescued; or the rewards he has for his people.
  4. Isaiah 40:20 Verses 19-20a in Hebrew are unclear.

Comfort for God’s People

40 Comfort, comfort(A) my people,
    says your God.
Speak tenderly(B) to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service(C) has been completed,(D)
    that her sin has been paid for,(E)
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
    double(F) for all her sins.

A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way(G) for the Lord[a];
make straight(H) in the desert
    a highway for our God.[b](I)
Every valley shall be raised up,(J)
    every mountain and hill(K) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,(L)
    the rugged places a plain.
And the glory(M) of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.(N)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”(O)

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

“All people are like grass,(P)
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers(Q) and the flowers fall,
    because the breath(R) of the Lord blows(S) on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers(T) fall,
    but the word(U) of our God endures(V) forever.(W)

You who bring good news(X) to Zion,
    go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c](Y)
    lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
    say to the towns of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”(Z)
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes(AA) with power,(AB)
    and he rules(AC) with a mighty arm.(AD)
See, his reward(AE) is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:(AF)
    He gathers the lambs in his arms(AG)
and carries them close to his heart;(AH)
    he gently leads(AI) those that have young.(AJ)

12 Who has measured the waters(AK) in the hollow of his hand,(AL)
    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?(AM)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
    or weighed the mountains on the scales
    and the hills in a balance?(AN)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d](AO) of the Lord,
    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?(AP)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
    and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,(AQ)
    or showed him the path of understanding?(AR)

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
    they are regarded as dust on the scales;(AS)
    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(AT)
16 Lebanon(AU) is not sufficient for altar fires,
    nor its animals(AV) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(AW) are as nothing;(AX)
    they are regarded by him as worthless
    and less than nothing.(AY)

18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(AZ)
    To what image(BA) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(BB) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith(BC) overlays it with gold(BD)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
    selects wood(BE) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
    to set up an idol(BF) that will not topple.(BG)

21 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?(BH)
Has it not been told(BI) you from the beginning?(BJ)
    Have you not understood(BK) since the earth was founded?(BL)
22 He sits enthroned(BM) above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.(BN)
He stretches out the heavens(BO) like a canopy,(BP)
    and spreads them out like a tent(BQ) to live in.(BR)
23 He brings princes(BS) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(BT)
24 No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root(BU) in the ground,
than he blows(BV) on them and they wither,(BW)
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(BX)

25 “To whom will you compare me?(BY)
    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(BZ)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(CA)
    Who created(CB) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(CC) one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(CD)
    not one of them is missing.(CE)

27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”?(CF)
28 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?(CG)
The Lord is the everlasting(CH) God,
    the Creator(CI) of the ends of the earth.(CJ)
He will not grow tired or weary,(CK)
    and his understanding no one can fathom.(CL)
29 He gives strength(CM) to the weary(CN)
    and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men(CO) stumble and fall;(CP)
31 but those who hope(CQ) in the Lord
    will renew their strength.(CR)
They will soar on wings like eagles;(CS)
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.(CT)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord
  2. Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God
  3. Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news
  4. Isaiah 40:13 Or mind