Isaiah 40
Legacy Standard Bible
The Glory of Yahweh Will Be Revealed
40 “(A)Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
2 “(B)Speak to the heart of Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her [a](C)warfare has been fulfilled,
That her [b](D)iniquity has been removed,
That she has received from the hand of Yahweh
(E)Double for all her sins.”
3 (F)A voice [c]is calling,
“(G)Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 [d]Then the (H)glory of Yahweh will be revealed,
And (I)all flesh will see it together;
For the (J)mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Call out.”
Then [e]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
(K)All flesh is grass, and all its lovingkindness is like the flower of the field.
7 The (L)grass [f]withers, the flower fades,
[g]When the (M)breath of Yahweh blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass [h]withers, the flower fades,
But (N)the word of our God stands forever.
9 Get yourself up on a (O)high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of (P)good news,
Raise up your voice powerfully,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Raise it up, do not fear.
Say to the (Q)cities of Judah,
“(R)Behold your God!”
10 Behold, Lord Yahweh will come (S)with strength,
With His (T)arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His (U)reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
11 Like a shepherd He will (V)shepherd His flock;
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
12 Who has (W)measured the [i]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And [j]encompassed the heavens by the [k]span,
And [l]calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
13 (X)Who has [m]encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh,
Or as His (Y)counselor has informed Him?
14 (Z)With whom did He take counsel and who (AA)gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And made Him know the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the (AB)nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are counted as a speck of (AC)dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its (AD)beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 (AE)All the nations are as nothing before Him;
They are counted by Him as non-existent and utterly formless.
18 (AF)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
19 As for the (AG)graven images, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith (AH)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20 He who is too impoverished to make such a contribution
Chooses a (AI)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a wise craftsman
To [n]prepare a graven image that (AJ)will not be shaken.
21 (AK)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood (AL)from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who [o]inhabits above the [p](AM)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like (AN)grasshoppers;
It is He who (AO)stretches out the heavens like a (AP)curtain
And spreads them out like a (AQ)tent to inhabit.
23 It is He who reduces (AR)rulers to nothing,
Who (AS)makes the [q]judges of the earth utterly formless.
24 [r]Scarcely have they been planted;
[s]Scarcely have they been sown;
[t]Scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they [u]wither,
And the (AT)storm carries them away like stubble.
25 “(AU)To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
26 (AV)Lift up your eyes on high
And see (AW)who has created these stars,
The (AX)One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the (AY)greatness of His vigor and the [v]strength of His power,
(AZ)Not one of them is missing.
27 (BA)Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is (BB)hidden from Yahweh,
And the (BC)justice due me passes by (BD)my God”?
28 (BE)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The (BF)Everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is (BG)unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the (BH)weary,
And to him who lacks vigor He (BI)increases might.
30 Though (BJ)youths grow weary and tired,
And choice (BK)young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who hope in Yahweh
Will (BL)gain new power;
They will [w](BM)mount up with [x]wings like eagles;
They will run and not get tired;
They will walk and not become weary.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:2 Or hard service
- Isaiah 40:2 Or penalty of iniquity has been accepted as paid off
- Isaiah 40:3 Or of one calling out
- Isaiah 40:5 Or In order that the
- Isaiah 40:6 Or I said
- Isaiah 40:7 Or dries up, cf. 42:15; Ps 90:5-6
- Isaiah 40:7 Or Because
- Isaiah 40:8 Or dries up, cf. 42:15; Ps 90:5-6
- Isaiah 40:12 DSS waters of the sea
- Isaiah 40:12 Or measured, marked off
- Isaiah 40:12 A span was approx. 9 in. or 23 cm
- Isaiah 40:12 Lit contained, comprehended
- Isaiah 40:13 Or measured, marked off
- Isaiah 40:20 Or set up
- Isaiah 40:22 Or is enthroned
- Isaiah 40:22 Or vault
- Isaiah 40:23 Or leaders
- Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
- Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
- Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
- Isaiah 40:24 Or dry up, cf. 42:15; Ps 90:5-6
- Isaiah 40:26 As in DSS and ancient versions; M.T. strong
- Isaiah 40:31 Or sprout wings
- Isaiah 40:31 Or pinions
Isaiah 40
King James Version
40 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
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