Isaiah 40-43

New American Standard Bible

The Greatness of God

40 “^(A)Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
²“^(B)Speak ^[a]kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her ^[b]^(C)warfare has ended,
That her ^[c]^(D)guilt has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
^(E)Double for all her sins.”

³^(F)The voice of one calling out,
“^(G)Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make ^[d]straight in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the uneven ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
⁵^[e]Then the ^(H)glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And ^(I)all flesh will see it together;
For the ^(J)mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
⁶A voice says, “Call out.”
Then ^[f]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
^(K)All flesh is grass, and all its ^[g]loveliness is like the flower of the field.
⁷The ^(L)grass withers, the flower fades,
^[h]When the ^(M)breath of the Lord blows upon it;
The people are indeed grass!
⁸The grass withers, the flower fades,
But ^(N)the word of our God stands forever.

⁹Go up on a ^(O)high mountain,
Zion, messenger of ^(P)good news,
Raise your voice forcefully,
Jerusalem, messenger of good news;
Raise it up, do not fear.
Say to the ^(Q)cities of Judah,
“^(R)Here is your God!”
¹⁰Behold, the Lord ^[i]God will come ^(S)with might,
With His ^(T)arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His ^(U)compensation is with Him,
And His reward before Him.
¹¹Like a shepherd He will ^(V)tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in the fold of His robe;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

¹²Who has ^(W)measured the ^[j]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And measured the heavens with a ^[k]span,
And ^[l]calculated the dust of the earth with a measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
¹³^(X)Who has ^[m]directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His ^(Y)counselor has informed Him?
¹⁴^(Z)With whom did He consult and who ^(AA)gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge,
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
¹⁵Behold, the ^(AB)nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of ^(AC)dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the ^[n]islands like fine dust.
¹⁶Even Lebanon is not enough to ^[o]burn,
Nor its ^(AD)animals enough for a burnt offering.
¹⁷^(AE)All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and ^[p]meaningless.

¹⁸^(AF)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
¹⁹As for the ^[q]^(AG)idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith ^(AH)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
²⁰He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a ^(AI)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To ^[r]prepare ^[s]an idol that ^(AJ)will not totter.

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?
²²It is He who ^[t]sits above the ^[u]^(AM)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like ^(AN)grasshoppers,
Who ^(AO)stretches out the heavens like a ^(AP)curtain
And spreads them out like a ^(AQ)tent to live in.
²³It is He who reduces ^(AR)rulers to nothing,
Who ^(AS)makes the judges of the earth ^[v]meaningless.
²⁴^[w]Scarcely have they been planted,
^[x]Scarcely have they been sown,
^[y]Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the ^(AT)storm carries them away like stubble.
²⁵“^(AU)To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
²⁶^(AV)Raise your eyes on high
And see ^(AW)who has created these stars,
The ^(AX)One who brings out their ^[z]multitude by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the ^(AY)greatness of His might and the ^[aa]strength of His power,
^(AZ)Not one of them is missing.

²⁷^(BA)Why do you say, Jacob, and you assert, Israel,
“My way is ^(BB)hidden from the Lord,
And the ^(BC)justice due me ^[ab]escapes the notice of ^(BD)my God”?
²⁸^(BE)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The ^(BF)Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is ^(BG)unsearchable.
²⁹He gives strength to the ^(BH)weary,
And to the one who lacks might He ^(BI)increases power.
³⁰Though ^(BJ)youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous ^(BK)young men stumble badly,
³¹Yet those who ^[ac]wait for the Lord
Will ^(BL)gain new strength;
They will ^[ad]^(BM)mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Israel Encouraged

41 “^(BN)Listen to Me ^(BO)in silence, you coastlands,
And let the peoples ^(BP)gain new strength;
^(BQ)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
^(BR)Let’s come together for judgment.
²^(BS)Who has stirred one from the east
Whom He ^(BT)calls in righteousness to His ^[ae]feet?
He ^(BU)turns nations over to him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like ^(BV)dust with his sword,
Like the wind-driven ^(BW)chaff with his bow.
³He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been ^[af]traversing with his feet.
⁴^(BX)Who has performed and accomplished it,
Summoning the generations from the beginning?
‘^(BY)I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. ^(BZ)I am He.’”

⁵The ^(CA)coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The ^(CB)ends of the earth tremble;
They have approached and have come.
⁶Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
⁷So the ^(CC)craftsman encourages the ^(CD)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
^(CE)So that it will not totter.
⁸“But you, Israel, ^(CF)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of ^(CG)Abraham My ^(CH)friend,
⁹You whom I have ^[ag]^(CI)taken from the ends of the earth
And called from its ^(CJ)remotest parts,
And said to you, ‘You are ^(CK)My servant,
I have ^(CL)chosen you and have not rejected you.
¹⁰Do not ^(CM)fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, ^(CN)I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous ^(CO)right hand.’
¹¹Behold, ^(CP)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
^(CQ)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
¹²^(CR)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
¹³For I am the Lord your God ^(CS)who takes hold of your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘^(CT)Do not fear, I will help you.’
¹⁴Do not fear, you ^(CU)worm Jacob, you people of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and ^(CV)your ^[ah]Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁵Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
^(CW)You will thresh the ^(CX)mountains and pulverize them,
And make the hills like chaff.
¹⁶You will ^(CY)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will ^(CZ)rejoice in the Lord,
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷“The poor and needy are seeking ^(DA)water, but there is none,
And their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, ^(DB)will answer them Myself;
As the God of Israel I ^(DC)will not abandon them.
¹⁸I will open ^(DD)rivers on the bare heights,
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make ^(DE)the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land fountains of water.
¹⁹I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia, the ^(DF)myrtle, and the olive tree;
I will place the ^(DG)juniper in the desert,
Together with the elm tree and the cypress,
²⁰So that ^(DH)they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the ^(DI)hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

²¹“^[ai]Present your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your evidence,”
The ^(DJ)King of Jacob says.
²²^(DK)Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the ^(DL)former events, declare what they were,
So that we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
²³^(DM)Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
So that we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, ^(DN)do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.
²⁴Behold, ^(DO)you are less than nothing,
And ^(DP)your work is less than nothing!
He who chooses you is an ^(DQ)abomination.

²⁵“I have put ^(DR)one from the north into motion, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon ^[aj]^(DS)mortar,
As the potter treads on clay.”
²⁶Who has ^(DT)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was ^(DU)no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.
²⁷“^(DV)Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a ^(DW)messenger of good news.’
²⁸But ^(DX)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no ^(DY)counselor ^[ak]among them
Who, if I ask, can ^(DZ)give an answer.
²⁹Behold, all of them are ^[al]false;
Their ^(EA)works are ^(EB)nothing,
Their cast metal images are ^(EC)wind and emptiness.

God’s Promise concerning His Servant

42 “^(ED)Behold, My ^(EE)Servant, whom I ^[am]uphold;
My ^(EF)chosen one in whom My ^(EG)soul delights.
I have put My ^(EH)Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth ^(EI)justice to the ^[an]nations.
²He will not cry out nor raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
³A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth ^(EJ)justice.
⁴He will not be ^(EK)disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the ^(EL)coastlands will wait expectantly for His ^[ao]law.”

⁵This is what God the Lord says,

Who ^(EM)created the heavens and ^(EN)stretched them out,
Who spread out the ^(EO)earth and its ^[ap]offspring,
Who ^(EP)gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
⁶“I am the Lord, I have ^(EQ)called You in righteousness,
I will also ^(ER)hold You by the hand and ^(ES)watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a ^(ET)covenant to the people,
As a ^(EU)light to the nations,
⁷To ^(EV)open blind eyes,
To ^(EW)bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
⁸^(EX)I am the Lord, that is ^(EY)My name;
I will not give My ^(EZ)glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
⁹Behold, the ^(FA)former things have come to pass,
Now I declare ^(FB)new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”

¹⁰Sing to the Lord a ^(FC)new song,
Sing His praise from the ^(FD)end of the earth!
^(FE)You who go down to the sea, and ^(FF)all that is in it;
You ^(FG)islands, and those who live on them.
¹¹Let the ^(FH)wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
The settlements which ^(FI)Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of ^(FJ)Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the ^(FK)mountains.
¹²Let them ^(FL)give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the ^(FM)coastlands.
¹³^(FN)The Lord will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His ^(FO)zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will ^(FP)prevail against His enemies.

The Blindness of the People

¹⁴“^(FQ)I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.
¹⁵I will ^(FR)lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will ^(FS)turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
¹⁶I will ^(FT)lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will ^(FU)turn darkness into light before them
And ^(FV)uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will ^(FW)not leave them undone.”
¹⁷They will be turned back and be ^(FX)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in ^[aq]idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
“You are our gods.”

¹⁸^(FY)Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.
¹⁹Who is blind but My ^(FZ)servant,
Or so deaf as My ^(GA)messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as one who is ^[ar]^(GB)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
²⁰^(GC)You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
²¹The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the Law ^(GD)great and glorious.
²²But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are ^(GE)trapped in ^[as]caves,
Or are ^(GF)hidden away in prisons;
They have become plunder, with no one to save them,
And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”

²³Who among you will listen to this?
Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?
²⁴Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they ^(GG)were not willing to walk,
And whose Law they did not ^(GH)obey?
²⁵So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the ^(GI)fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he ^[at]^(GJ)paid no attention.

Israel Redeemed

43 But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your ^(GK)Creator, Jacob,
And He who ^(GL)formed you, Israel:
“Do not ^(GM)fear, for I have ^(GN)redeemed you;
I have ^(GO)called you by name; you are ^(GP)Mine!
²When you ^(GQ)pass through the waters, ^(GR)I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you ^(GS)walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
³For ^(GT)I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your ^(GU)Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
^[au]^(GV)Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
⁴Since you are ^(GW)precious in My sight,
Since you are ^(GX)honored and I ^(GY)love you,
I will give other people in your place and other nations in exchange for your life.
⁵Do not fear, for ^(GZ)I am with you;
I will bring ^(HA)your offspring from the east,
And ^(HB)gather you from the west.
⁶I will say to the ^(HC)north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My ^(HD)sons from afar
And My daughters from the ^(HE)ends of the earth,
⁷Everyone who is ^(HF)called by My name,
And whom I have ^(HG)created for My ^(HH)glory,
^(HI)Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Israel Is God’s Witness

⁸Bring out the people who are ^(HJ)blind, even though they have eyes,
And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.
⁹All the nations have ^(HK)gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can ^(HL)declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present ^(HM)their witnesses so ^(HN)that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰“You are ^(HO)My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And ^(HP)My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that ^(HQ)I am He.
^(HR)Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
¹¹I, only I, am the Lord,
And there is no ^(HS)savior ^(HT)besides Me.
¹²It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no ^(HU)strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
¹³Even ^[av]^(HV)from eternity ^(HW)I am He,
And there is ^(HX)no one who can rescue from My hand;
^(HY)I act, and who can reverse it?”

Babylon to Be Destroyed

¹⁴This is what the Lord your ^(HZ)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:

“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring them all down as fugitives,
^[aw]Even the ^(IA)Chaldeans, into the ^(IB)ships ^[ax]over which they rejoice.
¹⁵I am the Lord, your Holy One,
^(IC)The Creator of Israel, your ^(ID)King.”

¹⁶This is what the Lord says,

He who ^(IE)makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
¹⁷Who brings out the ^(IF)chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been ^(IG)extinguished, and have gone out like a wick):
¹⁸“^(IH)Do not call to mind the former things,
Or consider things of the past.
¹⁹Behold, I am going to do something ^(II)new,
Now it will spring up;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even ^(IJ)make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
²⁰The animals of the field will glorify Me,
The ^(IK)jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have ^(IL)given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
²¹The people whom ^(IM)I formed for Myself
^(IN)Will declare My praise.

The Shortcomings of Israel

²²“Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob;
But you have become ^(IO)weary of Me, Israel.
²³You have ^(IP)not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you ^(IQ)honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not ^(IR)burdened you with ^[ay]offerings,
Nor wearied you with ^(IS)incense.
²⁴You have not bought Me ^[az]^(IT)sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather, you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have ^(IU)wearied Me with your wrongdoings.

²⁵“I, I alone, am the one who ^(IV)wipes out your wrongdoings ^(IW)for My own sake,
And I will ^(IX)not remember your sins.
²⁶^[ba]Meet Me in court, ^(IY)let’s argue our case together;
State your cause, ^(IZ)so that you may be proved right.
²⁷Your ^(JA)first ^[bb]forefather sinned,
And your ^[bc]^(JB)spokesmen have rebelled against Me.
²⁸So I will profane the ^[bd]officials of the sanctuary,
And I will turn Jacob over to ^(JC)destruction and Israel to ^(JD)abuse.

Footnotes

Isaiah 40:2 Lit to the heart of
Isaiah 40:2 Or hard service
Isaiah 40:2 Or penalty of guilt accepted as paid off
Isaiah 40:3 Or smooth
Isaiah 40:5 Or In order that the
Isaiah 40:6 Another reading is I said
Isaiah 40:6 Or constancy
Isaiah 40:7 Or Because
Isaiah 40:10 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Isaiah 40:12 DSS reads waters of the sea
Isaiah 40:12 Or half cubit (9 in. or 22.8 cm)
Isaiah 40:12 Lit contained; or comprehended
Isaiah 40:13 Or measured, marked off
Isaiah 40:15 Or coastlands
Isaiah 40:16 I.e., for fire on an altar
Isaiah 40:17 Or void
Isaiah 40:19 Or carved image
Isaiah 40:20 Or set up
Isaiah 40:20 Or a carved image
Isaiah 40:22 Or is enthroned
Isaiah 40:22 Or vault
Isaiah 40:23 Or void
Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
Isaiah 40:26 Lit host
Isaiah 40:26 As in DSS and ancient versions; MT strong
Isaiah 40:27 Lit passes by my God
Isaiah 40:31 Or hope in
Isaiah 40:31 Or sprout wings
Isaiah 41:2 Lit foot
Isaiah 41:3 Lit going
Isaiah 41:9 Lit seized
Isaiah 41:14 Or Redeemer, the Holy One
Isaiah 41:21 Lit Bring near
Isaiah 41:25 I.e., the building material
Isaiah 41:28 Lit out of those
Isaiah 41:29 Another reading is nothing
Isaiah 42:1 Or hold fast
Isaiah 42:1 Or Gentiles
Isaiah 42:4 Or instruction
Isaiah 42:5 Or vegetation
Isaiah 42:17 Or carved images
Isaiah 42:19 Or the devoted one
Isaiah 42:22 Or holes
Isaiah 42:25 Lit did not lay it to heart
Isaiah 43:3 Or Ethiopia
Isaiah 43:13 As in LXX; MT from the day
Isaiah 43:14 Another reading is As for the Chaldeans, their rejoicing is turned into mourning
Isaiah 43:14 Lit of their rejoicing
Isaiah 43:23 Or a meal offering
Isaiah 43:24 Or calamus
Isaiah 43:26 Or Report to Me
Isaiah 43:27 Lit father
Isaiah 43:27 Or interpreters
Isaiah 43:28 Or holy princes