Isaiah 40:12-31
The Voice
12 Who has taken count and measured out all earth’s waters in a single, cupped palm
and determined heaven’s expanse with an outstretched hand?
Who has counted out exactly how many grains of dirt are here on earth,
and weighed the mountains and hills on scales?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Eternal One?
Can anyone claim to be His advisor?[a]
14 To whom did God turn for advice or instruction?
Whom did He consult about right and wrong?
Who directed Him down the path of justice or imparted to Him knowledge
or taught Him the way of understanding?
15 Face it; the nations are nothing but a drop in the bucket,
only a smidgen on the scales by the reckoning of God.
He can pick up entire islands as if they are grains of dirt.
16 Even if we had all the resources of Lebanon—
all of its trees to burn for fuel, all of its animals for burnt offerings—
How could we think that we’ve got enough to give to God?
17 All the countries of the world don’t add up to anything. In the eyes of God
they are less than nothing;
they are empty wastelands.
18 So would you try to find someone to compare to Him?
Can you think of anything that has a likeness to God?
19 An idol? Hardly. They are made by human hands.
Even if they are overlaid with gold, decorated with silver,
And shaped by the world’s best artisans,
they are subject to tarnish, tearing, and breaking.
20 Those who cannot afford such an extravagant offering
select a choice hardwood that will not rot,
And seek a skilled artisan to fashion an image
that will not totter and fall.
21 Don’t you know, haven’t you heard or even been told
from your earliest memories how the earth came to be?
22 Who else could have done it except God, enthroned high above the earth?
From such a vantage people seem like grasshoppers to Him.
Who else but God could stretch out the skies as if they were a curtain,
draw them tight, suspend them over our heads like the roof of a tent?
23 God reduces the rulers and judges,
the rich and powerful of the earth, to nothing;
24 They scarcely are planted, take root and start growing,
before God blows a withering breath,
And storm winds carry them away like chaff.
25 The Holy One asks, “Do you really think you can find
someone or something to compare to Me? My equal?”
26 Look at the myriad of stars and constellations above you.
Who set them to burning, each in its place?
Who knows those countless lights each by name?
They obediently shine, each in its place,
because God has the great strength and strong power to make it so.
27 Why, then, do you, Jacob, inheritors of God’s promise,
you, Israel, chosen of God—
Why do you say, “My troubled path is hidden from the Eternal;
God has lost all interest in My cause”?
28 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
The Eternal, the Everlasting God,
The Creator of the whole world, never gets tired or weary.
His wisdom is beyond understanding.
29 God strengthens the weary
and gives vitality to those worn down by age and care.
30 Young people will get tired;
strapping young men will stumble and fall.
31 But those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength.
They will soar on wings as eagles.
They will run—never winded, never weary.
They will walk—never tired, never faint.
Footnotes
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
