Isaiah 40

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)

¹⁸With whom, then, will you compare God?^(AZ)
    To what image^(BA) will you liken him?
¹⁹As for an idol,^(BB) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith^(BC) overlays it with gold^(BD)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
²⁰A person too poor to present such an offering
    selects wood^(BE) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
    to set up an idol^(BF) that will not topple.^(BG)

²¹Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?^(BH)
Has it not been told^(BI) you from the beginning?^(BJ)
    Have you not understood^(BK) since the earth was founded?^(BL)
²²He sits enthroned^(BM) above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.^(BN)
He stretches out the heavens^(BO) like a canopy,^(BP)
    and spreads them out like a tent^(BQ) to live in.^(BR)
²³He brings princes^(BS) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.^(BT)
²⁴No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root^(BU) in the ground,
than he blows^(BV) on them and they wither,^(BW)
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.^(BX)

²⁵“To whom will you compare me?^(BY)
    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.^(BZ)
²⁶Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:^(CA)
    Who created^(CB) all these?
He who brings out the starry host^(CC) one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,^(CD)
    not one of them is missing.^(CE)

²⁷Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”?^(CF)
²⁸Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?^(CG)
The Lord is the everlasting^(CH) God,
    the Creator^(CI) of the ends of the earth.^(CJ)
He will not grow tired or weary,^(CK)
    and his understanding no one can fathom.^(CL)
²⁹He gives strength^(CM) to the weary^(CN)
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men^(CO) stumble and fall;^(CP)
³¹but those who hope^(CQ) in the Lord
    will renew their strength.^(CR)
They will soar on wings like eagles;^(CS)
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.^(CT)

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

Acts 2:1-21

New International Version

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost^(A) came, they were all together^(B) in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.^(C) ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit^(D) and began to speak in other tongues^[a]^(E) as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing^(F) Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷Utterly amazed,^(G) they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?^(H) ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,^(I) Pontus^(J) and Asia,^[b]^(K) ¹⁰Phrygia^(L) and Pamphylia,^(M) Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene;^(N) visitors from Rome ¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”^(O)

Peter Addresses the Crowd

¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!^(P) ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷“‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.^(Q)
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,^(R)
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.^(S)
¹⁹I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,^(T)
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood^(U)
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
²¹And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord^(V) will be saved.’^[c]^(W)