Isaiah 40:1-17

Good News Translation

^3 (A)A voice cries out,
“Prepare in the wilderness a road for the Lord!
    Clear the way in the desert for our God!
⁴ Fill every valley;
    level every mountain.
The hills will become a plain,
    and the rough country will be made smooth.
⁵ Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it.
The Lord himself has promised this.”

^6 (B)A voice cries out, “Proclaim a message!”
“What message shall I proclaim?” I ask.
“Proclaim that all human beings are like grass;
    they last no longer than wild flowers.
⁷ Grass withers and flowers fade
    when the Lord sends the wind blowing over them.
    People are no more enduring than grass.
⁸ Yes, grass withers and flowers fade,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

⁹ Jerusalem, go up on a high mountain
    and proclaim the good news!
Call out with a loud voice, Zion;
    announce the good news!^[b]
Speak out and do not be afraid.
Tell the towns of Judah
    that their God is coming!

^10 (C)The Sovereign Lord is coming to rule with power,
    bringing with him the people he has rescued.^[c]
11 (D)He will take care of his flock like a shepherd;
    he will gather the lambs together
    and carry them in his arms;
    he will gently lead their mothers.

^15 (F)To the Lord the nations are nothing,
    no more than a drop of water;
    the distant islands are as light as dust.
¹⁶ All the animals in the forests of Lebanon
    are not enough for a sacrifice to our God,
    and its trees are too few to kindle the fire.
¹⁷ The nations are nothing at all to him.