Isaiah 40
Christian Standard Bible
God’s People Comforted
40 “Comfort, comfort my people,”(A)
says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to[a] Jerusalem,
and announce to her
that her time of hard service is over,
her iniquity(B) has been pardoned,(C)
and she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.”(D)
3 A voice of one crying out:
Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness;(E)
make a straight highway for our God in the desert.(F)
4 Every valley will be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled;
the uneven ground will become smooth
and the rough places, a plain.(G)
5 And the glory of the Lord will appear,(H)
and all humanity[b] together will see it,(I)
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(J)
6 A voice was saying, “Cry out!”
Another said,[c] “What should I cry out?”
“All humanity is grass,(K)
and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.(L)
7 The grass withers, the flowers fade
when the breath[d] of the Lord blows on them;[e]
indeed, the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flowers fade,(M)
but the word of our God remains forever.”(N)
9 Zion, herald of good news,
go up on a high mountain.(O)
Jerusalem, herald of good news,(P)
raise your voice loudly.
Raise it, do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!” (Q)
10 See, the Lord God comes with strength,
and his power establishes his rule.(R)
His wages are with him,(S)
and his reward accompanies him.
11 He protects his flock like a shepherd;(T)
he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them in the fold of his garment.
He gently leads those that are nursing.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?(U)
Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure
or weighed the mountains on a balance
and the hills on the scales?
13 Who has directed[f] the Spirit of the Lord,
or who gave him counsel?(V)
14 Who did he consult?
Who gave him understanding(W)
and taught him the paths of justice?
Who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;
he lifts up the islands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel,
or its animals enough for a burnt offering.(X)
17 All the nations are as nothing before him;
they are considered by him
as empty nothingness.(Y)
18 With whom will you compare God?
What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?(Z)
19 An idol?—something that a smelter casts
and a metalworker plates with gold
and makes silver chains for?(AA)
20 A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal
that will not rot.[g]
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not fall over.(AB)
21 Do you not know?(AC)
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you
from the beginning?
Have you not considered
the foundations of the earth?(AD)
22 God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.(AE)
He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth(AF)
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.(AG)
23 He reduces princes to nothing(AH)
and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.
24 They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.(AI)
25 “To whom will you compare me,(AJ)
or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up and see!
Who created(AK) these?
He brings out the stars by number;
he calls all of them by name.(AL)
Because of his great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.
27 Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?(AM)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,(AN)
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never becomes faint or weary;
there is no limit to his understanding.(AO)
29 He gives strength to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Youths may become faint and weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31 but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;(AP)
they will soar on wings like eagles;(AQ)
they will run and not become weary,
they will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40
New King James Version
God’s People Are Comforted(A)
40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
2 “Speak [a]comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
(B)For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
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.
18 To whom then will you (R)liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 (S)The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such [i]a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
(T)To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21 (U)Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who (V)stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a (W)tent to dwell in.
23 He [j]brings the (X)princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 “To(Y) whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
(Z)He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
27 (AA)Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
(AB)His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who (AC)wait on the Lord
(AD)Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:2 Lit. to the heart of
- Isaiah 40:3 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX omits in the desert
- Isaiah 40:4 Or a plain
- Isaiah 40:6 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Vg. I
- Isaiah 40:10 in strength
- Isaiah 40:10 recompense
- Isaiah 40:12 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; DSS adds of the sea; Tg. adds of the world
- Isaiah 40:12 A span .5 cubit, 9 inches; or the width of His hand
- Isaiah 40:20 an offering
- Isaiah 40:23 reduces
Jesaja 40
Schlachter 1951
Die dem Volk Israel verheißene Erlösung
40 Tröstet, tröstet mein Volk,
spricht euer Gott;
2 redet freundlich mit Jerusalem und rufet ihr zu,
daß ihr Frondienst vollendet,
daß ihre Schuld gesühnt ist;
denn sie hat von der Hand des Herrn
Zwiefältiges empfangen für alle ihre Sünden.
3 Eine Stimme ruft:
In der Wüste bereitet den Weg des Herrn,
ebnet auf dem Gefilde eine Bahn unserm Gott[a]!
4 Jedes Tal soll erhöht,
jeder Berg und Hügel erniedrigt werden,
und was krumm ist, soll gerade,
und was höckericht ist, zur Ebene werden;
5 und die Herrlichkeit des Herrn wird sich offenbaren
und alles Fleisch zumal wird sie sehen;
denn der Mund des Herrn hat es gesagt.[b]
6 Es spricht eine Stimme: Predige!
Und er[c] sprach: Was soll ich predigen?
„Alles Fleisch ist Gras
und alle seine Anmut wie die Blume des Feldes!
7 Das Gras wird dürr, die Blume welkt;
denn der Hauch des Herrn weht darein.
Wahrhaftig, das Volk ist Gras!
8 Das Gras verdorrt, die Blume verwelkt;
aber das Wort unsres Gottes bleibt in Ewigkeit.“
9 Steige auf einen hohen Berg,
o Zion, die du gute Botschaft bringst!
Erhebe deine Stimme mit Kraft,
o Jerusalem, die du gute Botschaft bringst;
erhebe sie ohne Furcht;
sage den Städten Judas: Seht, da ist euer Gott!
10 Siehe, Gott, der Herr, kommt als ein Starker,
und sein Arm wird für ihn herrschen;
siehe, sein Lohn ist bei ihm,
und was er erworben, geht vor ihm her.
11 Er wird seine Herde weiden wie ein Hirte;
in seinen Arm wird er die Lämmer nehmen
und sie an seinem Busen tragen;
die Schafmütter wird er sorgsam führen.
12 Wer maß die Wasser mit der hohlen Hand?
Wer grenzte den Himmel mit der Spanne ab
und faßte den Staub der Erde in einen Dreiling?
Wer wog die Berge mit der Waage ab
und die Hügel mit Waagschalen?
13 Wer unterrichtete den Geist des Herrn,
und welcher Ratgeber hat ihn unterwiesen[d]?
14 Wen hat er um Rat gefragt, daß er ihn verständig mache
und ihm den Weg des Rechts weise,
daß er ihn Erkenntnis lehre
und ihm den Weg des Verstandes zeige?
15 Siehe, die Völker[e] sind wie ein Tropfen am Eimer;
wie ein Stäublein in den Waagschalen sind sie geachtet;
siehe, er hebt die Inseln auf wie ein Sandkörnlein!
16 Der Libanon reicht nicht hin zum Feuer,
und seine Tiere genügen nicht zum Brandopfer.
17 Alle Völker sind wie nichts vor ihm;
für eitel und gar nichtig gelten sie ihm!
18 Wem wollt ihr denn Gott vergleichen?
Oder was für ein Ebenbild wollt ihr ihm an die Seite stellen?
19 Das Götzenbild? Das hat der Künstler gegossen,
und der Goldschmied überzieht es mit Gold
und gießt silberne Ketten daran.
20 Wer aber arm ist,
wählt zu seinem Weihgeschenk ein Holz, das nicht fault,
und sucht sich einen Schnitzer,
der ein Götzenbild herstellen kann, das nicht wackelt.
21 Wisset ihr es nicht? Hört ihr es nicht?
Ist es euch nicht von Anfang an verkündigt worden?
Habt ihr die Gründung der Erde nicht begriffen?
22 Der ich über dem Kreise der Erde sitze
und vor dem ihre Bewohner wie Heuschrecken sind;
der ich den Himmel ausbreite wie einen Flor
und ihn ausspanne wie ein Zelt, daß man darunter wohne;
23 der ich Fürsten zunichte
und Richter der Erde machtlos mache -
24 kaum sind sie gepflanzt, kaum sind sie gesetzt,
kaum wurzelt ihr Stamm in der Erde,
so hauche ich sie an, daß sie verdorren
und dahinfahren wie Stoppeln vor dem Sturmwind -;
25 wem wollt ihr mich vergleichen dem ich gleich sein soll?
spricht der Heilige.
26 Hebet eure Augen zur Höhe und seht:
Wer hat diese erschaffen?
Er, der ihr Heer nach der Zahl herausführt,
der sie alle mit Namen ruft.
So groß ist sein Vermögen und so stark ist er,
daß es nicht an einem fehlen kann.
27 Warum sprichst du denn, Jakob,
und sagst du, Israel:
Mein Weg ist vor dem Herrn verborgen,
und mein Recht entgeht meinem Gott?
28 Weißt du denn nicht, hast du denn nicht gehört?
Der ewige Gott, der Herr,
der die Enden der Erde geschaffen hat,
wird nicht müde noch matt;
sein Verstand ist unerschöpflich!
29 Er gibt dem Müden Kraft
und Stärke genug dem Unvermögenden.
30 Knaben werden müde und matt,
und Jünglinge fallen;
31 die aber auf den Herrn harren, kriegen neue Kraft,
daß sie auffahren mit Flügeln wie Adler,
daß sie laufen und nicht matt werden,
daß sie wandeln und nicht müde werden.
Footnotes
- Jesaja 40:3 + Mt 3:3; + Mk 1:3; + Lk 3:4–6; + Jh 1:23
- Jesaja 40:5 denn der Mund des Herrn; od. alles Fleisch wird sehen, daß der Mund des Herrn (LS)
- Jesaja 40:6 er = der Prophet (LS)
- Jesaja 40:13 + Rö 11:34; + 1Ko 2:16
- Jesaja 40:15 die Völker sind, = die Völker sind vor dem Herrn (s.V.17) (LS)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1951 by Geneva Bible Society