^3 (A)The voice of one calling out,
“^(B)Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make ^[a]straight in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴ Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the uneven ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
^5 [b]Then the ^(C)glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And ^(D)all flesh will see it together;
For the ^(E)mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
⁶ A voice says, “Call out.”
Then ^[c]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
^(F)All flesh is grass, and all its ^[d]loveliness is like the flower of the field.
⁷ The ^(G)grass withers, the flower fades,
^[e]When the ^(H)breath of the Lord blows upon it;
The people are indeed grass!
⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades,
But ^(I)the word of our God stands forever.

²⁶ Who has ^(A)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was ^(B)no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.