Isaiah 40
Lexham English Bible
Comfort for God’s People
40 “Comfort; comfort my people,” says your God.
2 “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her,
that her compulsory labor is fulfilled, that her sin is paid for,
that she has received[a] from the hand of Yahweh double for all her sins.”
3 A voice is calling in the wilderness, “Clear the way of Yahweh!
Make a highway smooth in the desert for our God!
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill shall become low,
And the rough ground shall be like a plain,
and the rugged ground like a valley-plain.
5 And the glory of Yahweh shall be revealed,
and all humankind[b] together shall see it,
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
6 A voice is saying, “Call!”
And he said, “What shall I call?”
All humankind[c] are grass,
and all his loyalty is like the flowers of the field.
7 Grass withers; the flower withers
when the breath of Yahweh blows on it.
Surely the people are grass.
8 Grass withers; the flower withers,
but[d] the word of our God will stand forever.
9 Get yourself[e] up to a high mountain, Zion, bringer of good news!
Lift up your voice with strength, Jerusalem, bringer of good news!
Lift it up; you must not fear!
Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
10 Look! The Lord Yahweh comes with strength,[f]
and his arm rules for him.
Look! His reward is with him,
and his recompense in his presence.[g]
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arm,
and he will carry them in his bosom;
he will lead those who nurse.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
comprehended the dust of the earth in a third of a measure
and weighed out the mountains in the scales,[h] and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured up the spirit of Yahweh
or informed him as his counselor[i]?
14 With whom has he consulted, that[j] he enlightened him[k]
and taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and made the way of understanding known to him?
15 Look! The nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and they are counted like dust of the balances!
Look! He weighs the islands like a thin covering.
16 And Lebanon is not enough to light a fire,
and its animals[l] not enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are like nothing before him;
they are counted by him as[m] nothing and emptiness.
18 And to whom will you liken God?
And to what likeness will you compare him?
19 A craftsman pours out the idol,
and a goldsmith[n] overlays it with gold,
and he smelts chains of silver.
20 The one who is too impoverished for a gift chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks a skillful artisan for himself to set up an image that will not be knocked over.
21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?[o]
Have you not understood from the foundation of the earth?
22 He is the one who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
the one who stretches out the heavens like a veil
and spreads them out like a tent to live in,
23 the one who brings[p] princes to nothing;
he makes rulers of the earth like nothing.
24 Indeed, hardly are they planted; indeed, hardly are they sown;
indeed, hardly has their shoot taken root in the earth
when[q] he blows on them and they wither,
and the tempest carries them like stubble.
25 “And to whom you will compare me, and am I equal?” says the holy one.
26 Lift your eyes up on high, and see! Who created these?
The one who brings out their host by number.
He calls all them by name.
Because he is great of power
and mighty of power, no man is missing.
27 Why[r] do you say, Jacob,
and you speak, Israel,
“My way is hidden from Yahweh,
and my judgment is passed over by my God?”
28 Have you not known,
or have you not heard?
Yahweh is the God of eternity,
the creator of the ends of the earth!
He is not faint, and he does not grow weary!
There is no searching his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weary,
and he increases power for the powerless.[s]
30 Even[t] young people will be faint and grow weary,
and the young will stumble, exhausted.
31 But[u] those who wait for Yahweh shall renew their strength.
They shall go up with wings[v] like eagles;
they shall run and not grow weary;
they shall walk and not be faint.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:2 Literally “taken”
- Isaiah 40:5 Literally “flesh”
- Isaiah 40:6 Literally “flesh”
- Isaiah 40:8 Or “and”
- Isaiah 40:9 Literally “Go for you”
- Isaiah 40:10 Literally “strong”
- Isaiah 40:10 Literally “before his face”
- Isaiah 40:12 Hebrew “scale”
- Isaiah 40:13 Literally “the man of his counsel”
- Isaiah 40:14 Or “and”
- Isaiah 40:14 Or “made him understand”
- Isaiah 40:16 Hebrew “animal”
- Isaiah 40:17 Or “from”
- Isaiah 40:19 Literally “refiner”
- Isaiah 40:21 Literally “head”
- Isaiah 40:23 Or “gives”
- Isaiah 40:24 Or “also”
- Isaiah 40:27 Literally “To what”
- Isaiah 40:29 Literally “not power”
- Isaiah 40:30 Or “And”
- Isaiah 40:31 Or “And”
- Isaiah 40:31 Hebrew “wing”
Isaiah 40
American Standard Version
40 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye [a]comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her [b]warfare is accomplished, that her [c]iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah’s hand double for all her sins.
3 The voice of one [d]that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain: 5 and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
6 The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.
9 [e]O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; [f]O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God! 10 Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young.
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 13 Who hath [g]directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor hath taught him? 14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: behold, [h]he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as [i]less than nothing, and [j]vanity.
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 19 The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains. 20 He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to [k]set up a graven image, that shall not be moved. 21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not [l]understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as [m]a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; 23 that bringeth princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earth as [n]vanity. 24 [o]Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble. 25 To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, [p]and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking.
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and the justice due to me is passed away from my God? 28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? [q]The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:2 Hebrew to the heart of.
- Isaiah 40:2 Or, time of service
- Isaiah 40:2 Or, punishment is accepted. See Lev. 26:43.
- Isaiah 40:3 Or, that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way etc.
- Isaiah 40:9 Or, O Zion, that bringest good tidings
- Isaiah 40:9 Or, O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings
- Isaiah 40:13 Or, meted out
- Isaiah 40:15 Or, the isles are as the fine dust that is lifted up
- Isaiah 40:17 Or, as a thing of nought
- Isaiah 40:17 Or, confusion
- Isaiah 40:20 Or, prepare
- Isaiah 40:21 Or, understood the foundations
- Isaiah 40:22 Or, gauze
- Isaiah 40:23 Or, confusion
- Isaiah 40:24 Or, Scarce are they planted, scarce are they sown, scarce hath their stock taken root in the earth, when he bloweth upon them etc.
- Isaiah 40:26 Or, and see: who hath created these? he that etc.
- Isaiah 40:28 Or, Jehovah is an everlasting God, the Creator . . . he fainteth not etc.
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