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Isaiah 39-41
English Standard Version
Isaiah 39-41
English Standard Version
Envoys from Babylon
39 (A)At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, (B)sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, (C)the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. (D)There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 (E)Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7 (F)And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, (G)“There will be peace and security in my days.”
Comfort for God's People
40 (H)Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 (I)Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that (J)her warfare[a] is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
3 (K)A voice cries:[b]
(L)“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
(M)make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 (N)Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 (O)And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
(P)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Word of God Stands Forever
6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said,[c] “What shall I cry?”
(Q)All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty[d] is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 (R)The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
The Greatness of God
9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, (S)herald of good news;[e]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;[f]
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 (T)Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
(U)behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 (V)He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
(W)he will gather the lambs in his arms;
(X)he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
12 (Y)Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 (Z)Who has measured[g] the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
(AA)Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted (AB)as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up (AC)the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are (AD)its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 (AE)All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 (AF)To whom then will you liken God,
(AG)or what likeness compare with him?
19 (AH)An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 (AI)He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood[h] that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.
21 (AJ)Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are (AK)like grasshoppers;
(AL)who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 (AM)who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
(AN)and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 (AO)To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
(AP)He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
(AQ)“My way is hidden from the Lord,
(AR)and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is (AS)the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
(AT)his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but (AU)they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings (AV)like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Fear Not, for I Am with You
41 (AW)Listen to me in silence, (AX)O coastlands;
let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
let us together draw near for judgment.
2 (AY)Who stirred up one from the east
whom victory meets at every (AZ)step?[i]
(BA)He gives up nations before him,
so that he tramples kings underfoot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
(BB)like driven stubble with his bow.
3 He pursues them and passes on safely,
by paths his feet have not trod.
4 (BC)Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
(BD)I, the Lord, the first,
and with the last; I am he.
5 (BE)The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
the ends of the earth tremble;
they have drawn near and come.
6 Everyone helps his neighbor
and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 (BF)The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,
and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
and they strengthen it with nails (BG)so that it cannot be moved.
8 But you, Israel, (BH)my servant,
Jacob, (BI)whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, (BJ)my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called (BK)from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are (BL)my servant,
(BM)I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with (BN)my righteous right hand.
11 (BO)Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
12 (BP)You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
(BQ)those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
13 For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.”
14 Fear not, you (BR)worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
your (BS)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 (BT)Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh (BU)the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff;
16 (BV)you shall winnow them, and (BW)the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
(BX)And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
17 (BY)When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 (BZ)I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
(CA)I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 (CB)I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert (CC)the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that (CD)the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The Futility of Idols
21 Set forth your case, says the Lord;
bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them, and (CE)tell us
what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
that we may consider them,
that we may know their outcome;
or declare to us the things to come.
23 (CF)Tell us what is to come hereafter,
that we may know that you are gods;
(CG)do good, or do harm,
that we may be dismayed and terrified.[j]
24 Behold, (CH)you are nothing,
and your work is less than nothing;
an abomination is he who chooses you.
25 (CI)I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
(CJ)from the rising of the sun, (CK)and he shall call upon my name;
he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
26 (CL)Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,
and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.
27 (CM)I was the first to say[k] to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”
and (CN)I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
28 (CO)But when I look, there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.
29 (CP)Behold, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their metal images are empty wind.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:2 Or hardship
- Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one crying
- Isaiah 40:6 Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text And someone says
- Isaiah 40:6 Or all its constancy
- Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion
- Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem
- Isaiah 40:13 Or has directed
- Isaiah 40:20 Or He chooses valuable wood
- Isaiah 41:2 Or whom righteousness calls to follow?
- Isaiah 41:23 Or that we may both be dismayed and see
- Isaiah 41:27 Or Formerly I said
Isaiah 39-41
New International Version
Isaiah 39-41
New International Version
Envoys From Babylon(A)
39 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon(B) sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. 2 Hezekiah received the envoys(C) gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold,(D) the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures.(E) There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”
“From a distant land,(F)” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”
4 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word(G) of the Lord Almighty: 6 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.(H) Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.(I)”
8 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,(J)” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.(K)”
Comfort for God’s People
40 Comfort, comfort(L) my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly(M) to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service(N) has been completed,(O)
that her sin has been paid for,(P)
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double(Q) for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way(R) for the Lord[a];
make straight(S) in the desert
a highway for our God.[b](T)
4 Every valley shall be raised up,(U)
every mountain and hill(V) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,(W)
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory(X) of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.(Y)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”(Z)
6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,(AA)
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers(AB) and the flowers fall,
because the breath(AC) of the Lord blows(AD) on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers(AE) fall,
but the word(AF) of our God endures(AG) forever.(AH)”
9 You who bring good news(AI) to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c](AJ)
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”(AK)
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes(AL) with power,(AM)
and he rules(AN) with a mighty arm.(AO)
See, his reward(AP) is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:(AQ)
He gathers the lambs in his arms(AR)
and carries them close to his heart;(AS)
he gently leads(AT) those that have young.(AU)
12 Who has measured the waters(AV) in the hollow of his hand,(AW)
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?(AX)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?(AY)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d](AZ) of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?(BA)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,(BB)
or showed him the path of understanding?(BC)
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;(BD)
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(BE)
16 Lebanon(BF) is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals(BG) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(BH) are as nothing;(BI)
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.(BJ)
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(BK)
To what image(BL) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(BM) a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith(BN) overlays it with gold(BO)
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood(BP) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol(BQ) that will not topple.(BR)
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(BS)
Has it not been told(BT) you from the beginning?(BU)
Have you not understood(BV) since the earth was founded?(BW)
22 He sits enthroned(BX) above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.(BY)
He stretches out the heavens(BZ) like a canopy,(CA)
and spreads them out like a tent(CB) to live in.(CC)
23 He brings princes(CD) to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(CE)
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root(CF) in the ground,
than he blows(CG) on them and they wither,(CH)
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(CI)
25 “To whom will you compare me?(CJ)
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(CK)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(CL)
Who created(CM) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(CN) one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(CO)
not one of them is missing.(CP)
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?(CQ)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(CR)
The Lord is the everlasting(CS) God,
the Creator(CT) of the ends of the earth.(CU)
He will not grow tired or weary,(CV)
and his understanding no one can fathom.(CW)
29 He gives strength(CX) to the weary(CY)
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men(CZ) stumble and fall;(DA)
31 but those who hope(DB) in the Lord
will renew their strength.(DC)
They will soar on wings like eagles;(DD)
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.(DE)
The Helper of Israel
41 “Be silent(DF) before me, you islands!(DG)
Let the nations renew their strength!(DH)
Let them come forward(DI) and speak;
let us meet together(DJ) at the place of judgment.
2 “Who has stirred(DK) up one from the east,(DL)
calling him in righteousness(DM) to his service[e]?(DN)
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust(DO) with his sword,
to windblown chaff(DP) with his bow.(DQ)
3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,(DR)
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4 Who has done this and carried it through,
calling(DS) forth the generations from the beginning?(DT)
I, the Lord—with the first of them
and with the last(DU)—I am he.(DV)”
5 The islands(DW) have seen it and fear;
the ends of the earth(DX) tremble.
They approach and come forward;
6 they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!(DY)”
7 The metalworker(DZ) encourages the goldsmith,(EA)
and the one who smooths with the hammer
spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding, “It is good.”
The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.(EB)
8 “But you, Israel, my servant,(EC)
Jacob, whom I have chosen,(ED)
you descendants of Abraham(EE) my friend,(EF)
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,(EG)
from its farthest corners I called(EH) you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;(EI)
I have chosen(EJ) you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear,(EK) for I am with you;(EL)
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen(EM) you and help(EN) you;
I will uphold you(EO) with my righteous right hand.(EP)
11 “All who rage(EQ) against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;(ER)
those who oppose(ES) you
will be as nothing and perish.(ET)
12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.(EU)
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing(EV) at all.
13 For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand(EW)
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help(EX) you.
14 Do not be afraid,(EY) you worm(EZ) Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help(FA) you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer,(FB) the Holy One(FC) of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,(FD)
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains(FE) and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.(FF)
16 You will winnow(FG) them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale(FH) will blow them away.(FI)
But you will rejoice(FJ) in the Lord
and glory(FK) in the Holy One(FL) of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,(FM)
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.(FN)
But I the Lord will answer(FO) them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake(FP) them.
18 I will make rivers flow(FQ) on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert(FR) into pools of water,(FS)
and the parched ground into springs.(FT)
19 I will put in the desert(FU)
the cedar and the acacia,(FV) the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers(FW) in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress(FX) together,(FY)
20 so that people may see and know,(FZ)
may consider and understand,(GA)
that the hand(GB) of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One(GC) of Israel has created(GD) it.
21 “Present your case,(GE)” says the Lord.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.(GF)
22 “Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.(GG)
Tell us what the former things(GH) were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,(GI)
23 tell us what the future holds,
so we may know(GJ) that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,(GK)
so that we will be dismayed(GL) and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing(GM)
and your works are utterly worthless;(GN)
whoever chooses you is detestable.(GO)
25 “I have stirred(GP) up one from the north,(GQ) and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads(GR) on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning,(GS) so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold(GT) it,
no one heard any words(GU) from you.
27 I was the first to tell(GV) Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.(GW)
28 I look but there is no one(GX)—
no one among the gods to give counsel,(GY)
no one to give answer(GZ) when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;(HA)
their images(HB) are but wind(HC) and confusion.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord
- Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God
- 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
- Isaiah 41:2 Or east, / whom victory meets at every step
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.