Chapter 40

Comfort¹⁶ ye, comfort¹⁶ ye my people, saith⁴ your God.

Speak¹⁶ ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry³ unto her, that her warfare is accomplished,¹ that her iniquity is pardoned:⁸ for she hath received¹ of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.

The voice of him that crieth⁶ in the wilderness, Prepare¹⁶ ye the way of the LORD, make straight¹⁶ in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted,¹¹ and every mountain and hill shall be made low:⁴ and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,⁸ and all flesh shall see¹ [it] together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken¹⁴ [it].

The voice said,⁶ Cry.³ And he said,¹ What shall I cry?⁴ All flesh [is] grass, and all the goodliness thereof [is] as the flower of the field:

The grass withereth,¹ the flower fadeth:¹ because the spirit of the LORD bloweth¹ upon it: surely the people [is] grass.

The grass withereth,¹ the flower fadeth:¹ but the word of our God shall stand⁴ for ever.

O Zion, that bringest good tidings,¹⁸ get thee up³ into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings,¹⁸ lift up⁵⁴ thy voice with strength; lift [it] up,⁵⁴ be not afraid;⁴ say³ unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

Behold, the Lord GOD will come⁴ with strong [hand], and his arm shall rule⁶ for him: behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him.

He shall feed⁴ his flock like a shepherd:⁶ he shall gather¹⁷ the lambs with his arm, and carry⁴ [them] in his bosom, [and] shall gently lead¹⁷ those that are with young.⁶

Who hath measured¹ the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted¹⁴ out heaven with the span, and comprehended¹ the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed¹ the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Who hath directed¹⁴ the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counsellor ⁶⁰⁹⁸ hath taught⁵⁵ him?

With whom took he counsel,⁸ and [who] instructed⁴ him, and taught¹⁷ him in the path of judgment, and taught¹⁷ him knowledge, and shewed⁵⁵ to him the way of understanding?

Behold, the nations [are] as a drop of a bucket, and are counted⁸ as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up⁴ the isles as a very little thing.

And Lebanon [is] not sufficient to burn,¹⁵ nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted⁸ to him less than nothing, and vanity.

To whom then will ye liken¹⁷ God? or what likeness will ye compare⁴ unto him?

The workman melteth¹ a graven image, and the goldsmith⁶ spreadeth¹⁷ it over with gold, and casteth⁶ silver chains.

He that [is] so impoverished³⁰ that he hath no oblation chooseth⁴ a tree [that] will not rot;⁴ he seeketh¹⁷ unto him a cunning workman to prepare⁵³ a graven image, [that] shall not be moved.¹¹

Have ye not known?⁴ have ye not heard?⁴ hath it not been told⁹⁰ you from the beginning? have ye not understood⁵² from the foundations of the earth?

[It is] he that sitteth⁶ upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants⁶ thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out⁶ the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out⁴ as a tent to dwell in:²

That bringeth⁶ the princes⁶ to nothing; he maketh¹ the judges⁶ of the earth as vanity.

Yea, they shall not be planted;⁸ yea, they shall not be sown:²⁷ yea, their stock shall not take root²² in the earth: and he shall also blow¹ upon them, and they shall wither,⁴ and the whirlwind shall take them away⁴ as stubble.

To whom then will ye liken¹⁷ me, or shall I be equal?⁴ saith⁴ the Holy One.

Lift up³ your eyes on high, and behold³ who hath created¹ these [things], that bringeth out⁵⁶ their host by number: he calleth⁴ them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth.⁸

Why sayest⁴ thou, O Jacob, and speakest,¹⁷ O Israel, My way is hid⁸ from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over⁴ from my God?

Hast thou not known?¹ hast thou not heard,¹ [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator⁶ of the ends of the earth, fainteth⁴ not, neither is weary?⁴ [there is] no searching of his understanding.

He giveth⁶ power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth⁵⁵ strength.

Even the youths shall faint⁴ and be weary,⁴ and the young men shall utterly² fall:¹¹

But they that wait⁶ upon the LORD shall renew⁵⁵ [their] strength; they shall mount up⁴ with wings as eagles; they shall run,⁴ and not be weary;⁴ [and] they shall walk,⁴ and not faint.⁴