Isaiah 40:1-17

New International Version

Comfort for God’s People

40 Comfort, comfort^(A) my people,
    says your God.
²Speak tenderly^(B) to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service^(C) has been completed,^(D)
    that her sin has been paid for,^(E)
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
    double^(F) for all her sins.

³A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way^(G) for the Lord^[a];
make straight^(H) in the desert
    a highway for our God.^[b]^(I)
⁴Every valley shall be raised up,^(J)
    every mountain and hill^(K) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,^(L)
    the rugged places a plain.
⁵And the glory^(M) of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.^(N)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”^(O)

⁶A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,^(P)
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
⁷The grass withers^(Q) and the flowers fall,
    because the breath^(R) of the Lord blows^(S) on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
⁸The grass withers and the flowers^(T) fall,
    but the word^(U) of our God endures^(V) forever.^(W)”

⁹You who bring good news^(X) to Zion,
    go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^[c]^(Y)
    lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
    say to the towns of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”^(Z)
¹⁰See, the Sovereign Lord comes^(AA) with power,^(AB)
    and he rules^(AC) with a mighty arm.^(AD)
See, his reward^(AE) is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹He tends his flock like a shepherd:^(AF)
    He gathers the lambs in his arms^(AG)
and carries them close to his heart;^(AH)
    he gently leads^(AI) those that have young.^(AJ)

¹²Who has measured the waters^(AK) in the hollow of his hand,^(AL)
    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?^(AM)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
    or weighed the mountains on the scales
    and the hills in a balance?^(AN)
¹³Who can fathom the Spirit^[d]^(AO) of the Lord,
    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?^(AP)
¹⁴Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
    and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,^(AQ)
    or showed him the path of understanding?^(AR)

¹⁵Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
    they are regarded as dust on the scales;^(AS)
    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.^(AT)
¹⁶Lebanon^(AU) is not sufficient for altar fires,
    nor its animals^(AV) enough for burnt offerings.
¹⁷Before him all the nations^(AW) are as nothing;^(AX)
    they are regarded by him as worthless
    and less than nothing.^(AY)

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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

Romans 11:1-16

New International Version

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!^(A) I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham,^(B) from the tribe of Benjamin.^(C) ²God did not reject his people,^(D) whom he foreknew.^(E) Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: ³“Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”^[a]?^(F) ⁴And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”^[b]^(G) ⁵So too, at the present time there is a remnant^(H) chosen by grace.^(I) ⁶And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works;^(J) if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

⁷What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain.^(K) The elect among them did, but the others were hardened,^(L) ⁸as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,^(M)
to this very day.”^[c]^(N)

⁹And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
¹⁰May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,^(O)
and their backs be bent forever.”^[d]^(P)

Ingrafted Branches

¹¹Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all!^(Q) Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles^(R) to make Israel envious.^(S) ¹²But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles,^(T) how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!

¹³I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles,^(U) I take pride in my ministry ¹⁴in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy^(V) and save^(W) some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection brought reconciliation^(X) to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?^(Y) ¹⁶If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits^(Z) is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.