Isaiah
Chapter 40
1 Comfort my people, comfort them, says your God.
2 Talk kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her that her struggle is over, that her wrongs are forgiven, because she has received from God twice as much as she deserved for all her sins.
3 The voice of someone shouting in the wilderness says, “Get ready for God’s coming; clear a straight path for our God in the desert.”
4 Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be brought down; the crooked will be straightened, and the rough areas will be smoothed out.
5 God’s glory will be shown, and everyone will see it because God has said it would happen.
6 The voice said, “Shout.” And he asked, “What should I shout?” All people are like grass, and their beauty is like the flowers in the field.
7 The grass dries up, the flower wilts when God’s breath blows on it; indeed, people are like grass.
8 The grass dries up, the flower wilts, but God’s word will last forever.
9 O Zion, who brings good news, go up the high mountain; O Jerusalem, who brings good news, raise your voice loudly; raise it, do not be afraid; tell the cities of Judah, See your God!
10 Look, God will come with power, and his arm will have authority: see, his reward is with him, and his task is in front of him.
11 He will care for his flock like a shepherd: he will gather the young lambs with his arm, hold them close, and gently guide the mothers.
12 Who has measured the waters in the palm of his hand, and measured the sky with his hand’s width, and calculated the earth’s dust in a container, and weighed the mountains on scales, and the hills with a balance?
13 Who has guided the Spirit of God, or as his advisor, has taught him?
14 Who gave him advice, and who taught him, and showed him how to judge rightly, and gave him knowledge, and showed him how to understand?
15 Look, the countries are like a drop from a bucket, and they are like fine dust on scales: look, he picks up the islands as if they are very small.
16 Lebanon does not have enough wood for a fire, nor enough animals for a sacrifice.
17 To God, all nations are nothing; they are worth less than nothing, just emptiness.
18 Who will you compare to God? Or what image will you compare to him?
19 The worker makes a carved idol, the goldsmith covers it with gold, and makes silver chains for it.
20 The poor person without a gift picks a lasting tree and finds a skilled craftsman to make a carved idol that won’t fall over.
21 Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? Hasn’t someone told you from the start? Haven’t you understood since the world was made?
22 God sits above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers; He stretches out the sky like a curtain and spreads it out like a tent for living.
23 God reduces rulers to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth worthless.
24 Yes, they will not be planted; yes, they will not be sown; yes, their stem will not root in the ground: and when he breathes on them, they will dry up, and the storm will sweep them away like straw.
25 Who can you compare to me? Who is my equal? asks the Holy One.
26 Look up to the sky and see who made these stars. God brings them out one by one and knows each by name. Because of his great strength and power, not a single one is missing.
27 Why do you say, Jacob, and complain, Israel, “My path is hidden from God, and my rights are ignored by my God”?
28 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard that the eternal God, the creator of the whole earth, never gets tired or weary? No one can understand how deep his wisdom is.
29 He gives strength to the tired and gives more power to the weak.
30 Young people will get tired and worn out, and young men will stumble and fall.
31 Those who trust in God will gain new strength; they will soar high on wings like eagles; they will run without getting tired; they will walk without giving up.