CHAPTER 40

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, Saith your God.

2 Speak ye according to the heart of Jerusalem; And cry to her, That her warfare is accomplished; That her iniquity ¹ is pardoned; For she hath received at the hand of Jehovah Double for all her sins.

3 A voice crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah; Make straight in the desert a path for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, And every mountain And hill shall be laid low; And the crooked shall be made straight, And the rough places shall become a plain.

5 And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; That the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

6 The voice said, ² Cry; And I said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, And all the goodliness of it as the flower of the field.

7 The grass is withered; The flower is faded; Because the breath of Jehovah hath blown 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 Go up into the high mountain, O Zion, that bringest tidings; Lift up thy voice aloud, O Jerusalem, that bringest tidings; Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

10 Behold, the Lord Jehovah shall come with strength; And his arm shall be powerful. Behold, his reward is with him, And his work is before his face.

11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs in his arm, And shall early 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 measured the heavens with his palm, And held with three fingers the dust of the earth, And weighed the mountains in scales, And the heavens in a balance?

13 Who hath instructed the spirit of Jehovah, Or hath guided him by counsel, And hath taught him?

14 From whom sought he counsel, that he might advise him? And who taught him the path of judgment, And instructed him in knowledge, And showed to him the way of wisdom?

15 Lo, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, And are reckoned as the small dust of the balance; Lo, he taketh up the islands as a very little thing.

16 And Lebanon would not be sufficient to make a fire, Nor its beasts for a burnt-offering.

17 All nations are as nothing before him, And in comparison of him are reckoned less than nothing, And what hath no existence.

18 To whom then have ye likened God? Or what resemblance will ye appoint to him?

19 The workman prepareth a graven image, The goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, And (casteth) golden chains.

20 The poor man chooseth for his offering wood that will not rot; He procureth a skilful workman. To prepare a graven image that shall not be moved.

21 Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not been instructed from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is he that sitteth on the circle of the earth, The inhabitants of which are as locusts; He stretcheth out heaven as a curtain, And spreadeth it out as a tent to be inhabited.

23 He bringeth the mighty to nothing, The rulers of the earth as if they were not.

24 It is as if they had not been planted; It is as if they had not been sown; It is as if their stock had no root in the earth. Even while he bloweth on them, they wither, And the whirlwind carrieth them away as stubble.

25 And to whom will ye liken me, That I may be like? saith the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who hath created those things, Bringing out their army by number; He will call to all of them by name; By the greatness of his strength, And by the might of his power, None shall fail. ³

27 Why wilt thou say, ⁴ O Jacob? And why wilt thou speak, O Israel? My way is hidden from Jehovah, And my judgment passeth away from my God.

28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard That Jehovah is the God of eternity, Who hath created the ends of the earth? He fainteth not, And is not worn out by fatigue; And there is no searching of his understanding.

29 He giveth power to the faint, And to him who hath no might he imparteth strength.

30 The youths are wearied, And they faint; And the young men by falling full.

31 But they who wait upon Jehovah shall gather new strength; They shall raise their wings as eagles; They shall run, And shall not be wearied; They shall walk, And shall not faint.