Isaiah 40 — Legacy Standard Bible

The Glory of Yahweh Will Be Revealed

40“^aComfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.²“^aSpeak to the heart of Jerusalem;And call out to her, that her ¹^,^bwarfare has been fulfilled,That her ²^,^ciniquity has been removed,That she has received from the hand of Yahweh^dDouble for all her sins.”³^aA voice ¹is calling,“^bPrepare 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;⁵¹Then the ^aglory of Yahweh will be revealed,And ^ball flesh will see it together;For the ^cmouth of Yahweh has spoken.”⁶A voice says, “Call out.”Then ¹he answered, “What shall I call out?”^aAll flesh is grass, and all its lovingkindness is like the flower of the field.⁷The ^agrass ¹withers, the flower fades,²When the ^bbreath of Yahweh blows upon it;Surely the people are grass.⁸The grass ¹withers, the flower fades,But ^athe word of our God stands forever.⁹Get yourself up on a ^ahigh mountain,O Zion, bearer of ^bgood news,Raise up your voice powerfully,O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;Raise it up, do not fear.Say to the ^ccities of Judah,“^dBehold your God!”¹⁰Behold, Lord Yahweh will come ^awith strength,With His ^barm ruling for Him.Behold, His ^creward is with HimAnd His recompense before Him.¹¹Like a shepherd He will ^ashepherd His flock;In His arm He will gather the lambsAnd carry them in His bosom;He will gently lead the nursing ewes.¹²Who has ^ameasured the ¹waters in the hollow of His hand,And ²encompassed the heavens by the ³span,And ⁴calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,And weighed the mountains in a balanceAnd the hills in a pair of scales?¹³^aWho has ¹encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh,Or as His ^bcounselor has informed Him?¹⁴^aWith whom did He take counsel and who ^bgave Him understanding?And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledgeAnd made Him know the way of understanding?¹⁵Behold, the ^anations are like a drop from a bucket,And are counted as a speck of ^bdust on the scales;Behold, He lifts up the coastlands like fine dust.¹⁶Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,Nor its ^abeasts enough for a burnt offering.¹⁷^aAll the nations are as nothing before Him;They are counted by Him as non-existent and utterly formless.¹⁸^aTo whom then will you liken God?Or what likeness will you compare with Him?¹⁹As for the ^agraven images, a craftsman casts it,A goldsmith ^bplates it with gold,And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.²⁰He who is too impoverished to make such a contributionChooses a ^atree that does not rot;He seeks out for himself a wise craftsmanTo ¹prepare a graven image that ^bwill not be shaken.²¹^aDo you not know? Have you not heard?Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?Have you not understood ^bfrom the foundations of the earth?²²It is He who ¹inhabits above the ²^,^acircle of the earth,And its inhabitants are like ^bgrasshoppers;It is He who ^cstretches out the heavens like a ^dcurtainAnd spreads them out like a ^etent to inhabit.²³It is He who reduces ^arulers to nothing,Who ^bmakes the ¹judges of the earth utterly formless.²⁴¹Scarcely have they been planted;²Scarcely have they been sown;³Scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,But He merely blows on them, and they ⁴wither,And the ^astorm carries them away like stubble.²⁵“^aTo whom then will you liken MeThat I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.²⁶^aLift up your eyes on highAnd see ^bwho has created these stars,The ^cOne who leads forth their host by number,He calls them all by name;Because of the ^dgreatness of His vigor and the ¹strength of His power,^eNot one of them is missing.²⁷^aWhy do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,“My way is ^bhidden from Yahweh,And the ^cjustice due me passes by ^dmy God”?²⁸^aDo you not know? Have you not heard?The ^bEverlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth,Does not become weary or tired.His understanding is ^cunsearchable.²⁹He gives power to the ^aweary,And to him who lacks vigor He ^bincreases might.³⁰Though ^ayouths grow weary and tired,And choice ^byoung men stumble badly,³¹Yet those who hope in YahwehWill ^again new power;They will ¹^,^bmount up with ²wings like eagles;They will run and not get tired;They will walk and not become weary.