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Isaiah 40
Common English Bible
Isaiah 40
Common English Bible
Comfort for God’s people
40 Comfort, comfort my people!
says your God.
2 Speak compassionately to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her that her compulsory service has ended,
that her penalty has been paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins!
3 A voice is crying out:
“Clear the Lord’s way in the desert!
Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God!
4 Every valley will be raised up,
and every mountain and hill will be flattened.
Uneven ground will become level,
and rough terrain a valley plain.
5 The Lord’s glory will appear,
and all humanity will see it together;
the Lord’s mouth has commanded it.”
6 A voice was saying:
“Call out!”
And another[a] said,
“What should I call out?”
All flesh is grass;
all its loyalty is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass dries up
and the flower withers
when the Lord’s breath blows on it.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass dries up;
the flower withers,
but our God’s word will exist forever.
9 Go up on a high mountain,
messenger Zion!
Raise your voice and shout,
messenger Jerusalem!
Raise it; don’t be afraid;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 Here is the Lord God,
coming with strength,
with a triumphant arm,
bringing his reward with him
and his payment before him.
11 Like a shepherd, God will tend the flock;
he will gather lambs in his arms
and lift them onto his lap.
He will gently guide the nursing ewes.
The incomparable God
12 Who has measured the waters in the palm of a hand
or gauged the heavens with a ruler
or scooped the earth’s dust up in a measuring cup
or weighed the mountains on a scale
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who directed the Lord’s spirit
and acted as God’s advisor?
14 Whom did he consult for enlightenment?
Who taught him the path of justice and knowledge
and explained to him the way of understanding?
15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket,
and valued as dust on a scale.
Look, God weighs the islands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon doesn’t have enough fuel;
its animals aren’t enough for an entirely burned offering.
17 All the nations are like nothing before God.
They are viewed as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 So to whom will you equate God;
to what likeness will you compare him?
19 An idol? A craftsman pours it,
a metalworker covers it with gold,
and fashions silver chains.
20 The one who sets up an image chooses wood that won’t rot[b]
and then seeks a skilled artisan
to set up an idol that won’t move.
21 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
Wasn’t it announced to you from the beginning?
Haven’t you understood since the earth was founded?
22 God inhabits the earth’s horizon—
its inhabitants are like locusts—
stretches out the skies like a curtain
and spreads it out like a tent for dwelling.
23 God makes dignitaries useless
and the earth’s judges into nothing.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely is their shoot rooted in the earth
when God breathes on them, and they dry up;
the windstorm carries them off like straw.
25 So to whom will you compare me,
and who is my equal? says the holy one.
Power for the weary
26 Look up at the sky and consider:
Who created these?
The one who brings out their attendants one by one,
summoning each of them by name.
Because of God’s great strength
and mighty power, not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, Jacob,
and declare, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
my God ignores my predicament”?
28 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the creator of the ends of the earth.
He doesn’t grow tired or weary.
His understanding is beyond human reach,
29 giving power to the tired
and reviving the exhausted.
30 Youths will become tired and weary,
young men will certainly stumble;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will fly up on wings like eagles;
they will run and not be tired;
they will walk and not be weary.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:6 MT; DSS (1QIsaa), LXX I
- Isaiah 40:20 Heb uncertain
Isaiah 40
Easy-to-Read Version
Isaiah 40
Easy-to-Read Version
Israel’s Punishment Will End
40 Your God says,
“Comfort, comfort my people.
2 Speak kindly to Jerusalem and tell her,
‘Your time of service is finished.
You have paid the price for your sins.’
I, the Lord, have punished you twice
for every sin you committed.”
3 Listen, there is someone shouting:
“Prepare a way in the desert for the Lord.
Make a straight road there for our God.
4 Every valley must be filled.
Every mountain and hill should be made flat.
The crooked roads should be made straight,
and the rough ground made smooth.
5 Then the Glory of the Lord will be shown to everyone.
Together, all people will see it.
Yes, this is what the Lord himself said!”
6 A voice said, “Speak!”
So the man said, “What should I say?”
The voice said, “People are like grass.
Any glory they enjoy is like a wildflower.
7 When a wind from the Lord blows on them,
the grass dies and the flower falls.
Yes, all people are like grass.
8 Grass dies and flowers fall,
but the word of our God lasts forever.”
Salvation: God’s Good News
9 Zion, you have good news to tell.
Go up on a high mountain and shout the good news.
Jerusalem, you have good news to tell.
Don’t be afraid; speak loudly.
Tell this news to all the cities of Judah:
“Look, here is your God!”
10 The Lord God is coming with power.
He will use his power to rule all the people.
He will bring rewards for his people.
He will have their payment with him.
11 Like a good shepherd, he takes care of his people.
He gathers them like lambs in his arms.
He holds them close, while their mothers walk beside him.
God Made the World; He Rules It
12 Who measured the oceans in the palm of his hand?
Who used his hand to measure the sky?
Who used a bowl to measure all the dust of the earth?
Who used scales to measure the mountains and hills?
13 Who could know the Lord’s mind?
Who could be his teacher or give him advice?
14 Did the Lord ask for anyone’s help?
Did anyone teach him to be fair?
Did anyone teach him knowledge?
Did anyone teach him to be wise?
15 Look, all the nations in the world are like one small drop in the bucket.
If the Lord took all the faraway nations and put them on his scales,
they would be like small pieces of dust.
16 All the trees in Lebanon are not enough
to burn on the altar for the Lord.
And all the animals in Lebanon
are not enough to kill for a sacrifice.
17 Compared to God, all the nations of the world are nothing.
Compared to him, they are worth nothing at all.
People Cannot Imagine What God Is Like
18 Can you compare God to anything?
Can you make a picture of God?
19 No, but some people make statues from rock or wood,
and they call them gods.
One worker makes a statue.
Then another worker covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it.
20 For the base he chooses special wood,
a kind of wood that will not rot.
Then he finds a good wood worker,
and the worker makes a “god” that will not fall over.
21 Surely you know the truth, don’t you?
Surely you have heard.
Surely someone told you long ago.
Surely you understand who made the earth.
22 It is the Lord who sits above the circle of the earth.
And compared to him, people are like grasshoppers.
He rolled open the skies like a piece of cloth.
He stretched out the skies like a tent to sit under.
23 He takes away the power of rulers.
He makes the world’s leaders completely worthless.
24 They are like plants that are planted in the ground.
But before they can send their roots into the ground,
God blows on the “plants”;
they become dead and dry,
and the wind blows them away like straw.
25 The Holy One says, “Can you compare me to anyone?
No one is equal to me.”
26 Look up to the skies.
Who created all those stars?
Who created all those “armies” in the sky?
Who knows every star by name?
He is very strong and powerful,
so not one of these stars is lost.
27 People of Jacob, this is true.
Israel, you should believe it.
So why do you say, “The Lord cannot see the way I live;
he will not find me and punish me”[a]?
28 Surely you know the truth.
Surely you have heard.
The Lord is the God who lives forever!
He created all the faraway places on earth.
He does not get tired and weary.
You cannot learn all he knows.
29 He helps tired people be strong.
He gives power to those without it.
30 Young men get tired and need to rest.
Even young boys stumble and fall.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will become strong again.
They will be like eagles that grow new feathers.[b]
They will run and not get weak.
They will walk and not get tired.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:27 The Lord … punish me Or “My way is hidden from the Lord; he ignores my case.”
- Isaiah 40:31 like … feathers This probably refers to the ancient belief that eagles regain their youth when they molt (lose and grow back their feathers). See Ps. 103:5. This line could also be translated, “They will rise up like eagles on their wings.”
Isaiah 40
New International Version
Isaiah 40
New International Version
Comfort for God’s People
40 Comfort, comfort(A) my people,
says your God.
2 Speak 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.
3 A 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)
4 Every 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.
5 And 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)
6 A 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.
7 The grass withers(Q) and the flowers fall,
because the breath(R) of the Lord blows(S) on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers(T) fall,
but the word(U) of our God endures(V) forever.(W)”
9 You 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)
10 See, 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.
11 He 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)
12 Who 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)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d](AO) of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?(AP)
14 Whom 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)
15 Surely 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)
16 Lebanon(AU) is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals(AV) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(AW) are as nothing;(AX)
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.(AY)
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(AZ)
To what image(BA) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(BB) a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith(BC) overlays it with gold(BD)
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A 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)
21 Do 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)
22 He 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)
23 He brings princes(BS) to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(BT)
24 No 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)
26 Lift 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)
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?(CF)
28 Do 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)
29 He gives strength(CM) to the weary(CN)
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men(CO) stumble and fall;(CP)
31 but 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
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.