Isaiah 40:1-17

New King James Version

^3 (C)The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^(D)“Prepare the way of the Lord;
^(E)Make straight ^[b]in the desert
A highway for our God.
⁴ Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
^(F)The crooked places shall be made ^[c]straight
And the rough places smooth;
⁵ The ^(G)glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

⁶ The voice said, “Cry out!”
And ^[d]he said, “What shall I cry?”

^(H)“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
⁷ The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades,
But ^(I)the word of our God stands forever.”

⁹ O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

¹⁰ Behold, the Lord God shall come ^[e]with a strong hand,
And ^(J)His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, ^(K)His reward is with Him,
And His ^[f]work before Him.
¹¹ He will ^(L)feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

^12 (M)Who has measured the ^[g]waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a ^[h]span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
^13 (N)Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
¹⁴ With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And ^(O)taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?

¹⁵ Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
¹⁶ And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
¹⁷ All nations before Him are as ^(P)nothing,
And ^(Q)they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.