Isaiah 40

1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith yourGod.

1Give comfort, give comfort, to my people, says your God.

1Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God.

2Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her time of suffering is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.

2Say kind words to the heart of Jerusalem, crying out to her that her time of trouble is ended, that her punishment is complete; that she has been rewarded by the Lord's hand twice over for all her sins.

2Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.

3The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for ourGod!

3A voice of one crying, Make ready in the waste land the way of the Lord, make level in the lowland a highway for our God.

3The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God.

4Every valley shall be raised up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places a plain.

4Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough places become level, and the hilltops become a valley,

4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain.

5And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.

5And the glory of the Lord will be made clear, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has said it.

5And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.

6A voice saith, Cry. And he saith, What shall I cry? — All flesh is grass, and all the comeliness thereof as the flower of the field.

6A voice of one saying, Give a cry! And I said, What is my cry to be? All flesh is grass, and all its strength like the flower of the field.

6The voice of one, saying: Cry. And I said: What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field.

7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, for the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

7The grass becomes dry, the flower is dead; because the breath of the Lord goes over it: truly the people is grass.

7The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen, because the spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Indeed the people is grass:

8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of ourGod abideth for ever.

8The grass is dry, the flower is dead; but the word of our God is eternal.

8The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth for ever.

9O Zion, that bringest glad tidings, get thee up into a high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest glad tidings, lift up thy voice with strength: lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold yourGod!

9You who give good news to Zion, get up into the high mountain; you who give good news to Jerusalem, let your voice be strong; let it be sounding without fear; say to the towns of Judah, See, your God!

9Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:

10Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come with might, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompence before him.

10See, the Lord God will come as a strong one, ruling in power: see, those made free by him are with him, and those whom he has made safe go before him.

10Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.

11He will feed his flock like a shepherd: he will gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom; he will gently lead those that give suck.

11He will give food to his flock like a keeper of sheep; with his arm he will get it together, and will take up the lambs on his breast, gently guiding those which are with young.

11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.

12Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with [his] span, and grasped the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in scales?

12In the hollow of whose hand have the waters been measured? and who is able to take the heavens in his stretched-out fingers? who has got together the dust of the earth in a measure? who has taken the weight of the mountains, or put the hills into the scales?

12Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm? who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

13Who hath directed the Spirit of Jehovah, and, [as] his counsellor, hath taught him?

13By whom has the spirit of the Lord been guided, or who has been his teacher?

13Who hath forwarded the spirit of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor, and hath taught him?

14With whom took he counsel, and [who] gave him intelligence, and instructed him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?

14Who gave him suggestions, and made clear to him the right way? who gave him knowledge, guiding him in the way of wisdom?

14With whom hath he consulted, and who hath instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?

15Behold, the nations are esteemed as a drop of the bucket, and as the fine dust on the scales; behold, he taketh up the isles as an atom.

15See, the nations are to him like a drop hanging from a bucket, and like the small dust in the scales: he takes up the islands like small dust.

15Behold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a balance: behold the islands are as a little dust.

16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.

16And Lebanon is not enough to make a fire with, or all its cattle enough for a burned offering.

16And Libanus shall not be enough to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

17All the nations are as nothing before him; they are esteemed by him less than a cipher, and vanity.

17All the nations are as nothing before him; even less than nothing, a thing of no value.

17All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to him as nothing, and vanity.

18To whom then will ye likenGod? and what likeness will ye compare unto him?

18Whom then is God like, in your opinion? or what will you put forward as a comparison with him?

18To whom then have you likened God? or what image will you make for him?

19The workman casteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains [for it].

19The workman makes an image, and the gold-worker puts gold plates over it, and makes silver bands for it.

19Hath the workman cast a graven statue? or hath the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?

20He that is impoverished, so that he hath no offering, chooseth a tree that doth not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilled workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved.

20The wise workman makes selection of the mulberry-tree of the offering, a wood which will not become soft; so that the image may be fixed to it and not be moved.

20He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot: the skilful workman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.

21— Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundation of the earth?

21Have you no knowledge of it? has it not come to your ears? has not news of it been given to you from the first? has it not been clear to you from the time when the earth was placed on its base?

21Do you not know? hath it not been heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood the foundations of the earth?

22[It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a gauze curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;

22It is he who is seated over the arch of the earth, and the people in it are as small as locusts; by him the heavens are stretched out like an arch, and made ready like a tent for a living-place.

22It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.

23that bringeth the princes to nothing, that maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

23He makes rulers come to nothing; the judges of the earth are of no value.

23He that bringeth the searchers of secrets to nothing, that hath made the judges of the earth as vanity.

24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely hath their stock taken root in the earth, but he also bloweth upon them and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.

24They have only now been planted, and their seed put into the earth, and they have only now taken root, when he sends out his breath over them and they become dry, and the storm-wind takes them away like dry grass.

24And surely their stock was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the earth: suddenly he hath blown upon them, and they are withered, and a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

25Who then seems to you to be my equal? says the Holy One.

25And to whom have ye likened me, or made me equal, saith the Holy One?

26Lift up your eyes on high, and see! Who hath created these things, bringing out their host by number? He calleth them all by name; through the greatness of his might and strength of power, not one faileth.

26Let your eyes be lifted up on high, and see: who has made these? He who sends out their numbered army: who has knowledge of all their names: by whose great strength, because he is strong in power, all of them are in their places.

26Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things: who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by their names: by the greatness of his might, and strength, and power, not one of them was missing.

27Why sayest thou, Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and my right is passed away from myGod?

27Why do you say, O Jacob, such words as these, O Israel, The Lord's eyes are not on my way, and my God gives no attention to my cause?

27Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

28Dost thou not know, hast thou not heard, that the everlastingGod, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not nor tireth? There is no searching of his understanding.

28Have you no knowledge of it? has it not come to your ears? The eternal God, the Lord, the Maker of the ends of the earth, is never feeble or tired; there is no searching out of his wisdom.

28Knowest thou not, or hast thou not heard? the Lord is the everlasting God, who hath created the ends of the earth: he shall not faint, nor labour, neither is there any searching out of his wisdom.

29He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength.

29He gives power to the feeble, increasing the strength of him who has no force.

29It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force and might to them that are not.

30Even the youths shall faint and shall tire, and the young men shall stumble and fall;

30Even the young men will become feeble and tired, and the best of them will come to the end of his strength;

30You shall faint, and labour, and young men shall fall by infirmity.

31but they that wait upon Jehovah shall renew [their] strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not tire; they shall walk, and not faint.

31But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness.

31But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.