Isaiah 40

1 "Comfort, comfort my people," says your God.NHEB — Isaiah 40:1

2 "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem; and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins."NHEB — Isaiah 40:2

3 The voice of one who calls out in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the LORD. Make his roads straight.NHEB — Isaiah 40:3

4 Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low, and the uneven will be made level, and the rough places a plain.NHEB — Isaiah 40:4

5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity will see the salvation of God together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."NHEB — Isaiah 40:5

6 The voice of one saying, "Cry." And I said, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.NHEB — Isaiah 40:6

7 The grass withers, the flower fades, because the LORD's breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.NHEB — Isaiah 40:7

8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the LORD stands forever."NHEB — Isaiah 40:8

9 You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up. Do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, "Look, your God."NHEB — Isaiah 40:9

10 Look, the LORD will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Look, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.NHEB — Isaiah 40:10

11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.NHEB — Isaiah 40:11

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?NHEB — Isaiah 40:12

13 Who has known the mind of the LORD, or who has instructed him as his counselor?NHEB — Isaiah 40:13

14 From whom did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again?NHEB — Isaiah 40:14

15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Look, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.NHEB — Isaiah 40:15

16 Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering.NHEB — Isaiah 40:16

17 All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.NHEB — Isaiah 40:17

18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?NHEB — Isaiah 40:18

19 A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.NHEB — Isaiah 40:19

20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up an engraved image for him that will not be moved.NHEB — Isaiah 40:20

21 Haven't you known? Haven't you heard, yet? Haven't you been told from the beginning? Haven't you understood from the foundations of the earth?NHEB — Isaiah 40:21

22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in;NHEB — Isaiah 40:22

23 who brings princes to nothing; who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.NHEB — Isaiah 40:23

24 They are planted scarcely. They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.NHEB — Isaiah 40:24

25 "To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?" says the Holy One.NHEB — Isaiah 40:25

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their host by number. He calls them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.NHEB — Isaiah 40:26

27 Why do you say, Jacob, and why do you assert, Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me is disregarded by my God?"NHEB — Isaiah 40:27

28 And now, haven't you known? Haven't you heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the farthest parts of the earth, doesn't faint. He isn't weary. His understanding is unsearchable.NHEB — Isaiah 40:28

29 He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might.NHEB — Isaiah 40:29

30 Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall;NHEB — Isaiah 40:30

31 But those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.NHEB — Isaiah 40:31