Isaiah 40:9-26
Contemporary English Version
Your God Is Here!
9 There is good news
for the city of Zion.
Shout it as loud as you can[a]
from the highest mountain.
Don't be afraid to shout
to the towns of Judah:
“Your God is here!”
10 (A) Look! The powerful Lord God
is coming to rule
with his mighty arm.
He brings with him
what he has taken in war,
and he rewards his people.
11 (B) The Lord cares for his nation,
just as shepherds care
for their flocks.
He carries the lambs
in his arms,
while gently leading
the mother sheep.
Who Compares with God?
12 Did any of you measure
the ocean by yourself
or stretch out the sky
with your own hands?
Did you put the soil
of the earth in a bucket
or weigh the hills and mountains
on balance scales?
13 (C) Has anyone told the Lord[b]
what he must do
or given him advice?
14 Did the Lord ask anyone
to teach him wisdom
and justice?
Who gave him knowledge
and understanding?
15 (D) To the Lord, all nations
are merely a drop in a bucket
or dust on balance scales;
all of the islands
are but a handful of sand.
16 The cattle on the mountains
of Lebanon
would not be enough to offer
as a sacrifice to God,
and the trees would not
be enough for the fire.
17 God thinks of the nations
as far less than nothing.
18 (E) Who compares with God?
Is anything like him?
19 Is an idol at all like God?
It is made of bronze
with a thin layer of gold,
and decorated with silver.
20 (F) Or special wood may be chosen[c]
because it doesn't rot—
then skilled hands
take care to make an idol
that won't fall on its face.
God Rules the Whole Earth
21 Don't you know?
Haven't you heard?
Hasn't it been clear
since the time of creation?[d]
22 God is the one who rules
the whole earth,
and we that live here
are merely insects.
He spread out the heavens
like a curtain or an open tent.
23 God brings down rulers
and turns them into nothing.
24 They are like flowers
freshly sprung up
and starting to grow.
But when God blows on them,
they wilt and are carried off
like straw in a storm.
25 The holy God asks,
“Who compares with me?
Is anyone my equal?”
26 (G) Look at the evening sky!
Who created the stars?
Who gave them each a name?
Who leads them like an army?
The Lord is so powerful
that none of the stars
are ever missing.
Footnotes
- 40.9 There … can: Or “City of Jerusalem, you have good news. Shout it as loud as you can.”
- 40.13 the Lord: Or “the Lord's Spirit.”
- 40.20 Or … chosen: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Two kinds of idols seem to be described: bronze idols covered with gold (verse 19) and wooden idols (verse 20).
- 40.21 Hasn't … creation: Or “Isn't it clear that God created the world?”
Isaiah 40:9-26
New International Version
9 You who bring good news(A) to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[a](B)
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”(C)
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes(D) with power,(E)
and he rules(F) with a mighty arm.(G)
See, his reward(H) is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:(I)
He gathers the lambs in his arms(J)
and carries them close to his heart;(K)
he gently leads(L) those that have young.(M)
12 Who has measured the waters(N) in the hollow of his hand,(O)
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?(P)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?(Q)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[b](R) of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?(S)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,(T)
or showed him the path of understanding?(U)
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;(V)
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(W)
16 Lebanon(X) is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals(Y) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(Z) are as nothing;(AA)
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.(AB)
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(AC)
To what image(AD) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(AE) a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith(AF) overlays it with gold(AG)
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood(AH) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol(AI) that will not topple.(AJ)
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(AK)
Has it not been told(AL) you from the beginning?(AM)
Have you not understood(AN) since the earth was founded?(AO)
22 He sits enthroned(AP) above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.(AQ)
He stretches out the heavens(AR) like a canopy,(AS)
and spreads them out like a tent(AT) to live in.(AU)
23 He brings princes(AV) to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(AW)
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root(AX) in the ground,
than he blows(AY) on them and they wither,(AZ)
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(BA)
25 “To whom will you compare me?(BB)
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(BC)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(BD)
Who created(BE) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(BF) one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(BG)
not one of them is missing.(BH)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news
- Isaiah 40:13 Or mind
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