The Lord Returns to Jerusalem
40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your1
God.
40:2 “Speak kindly to2
Jerusalem, and tell her
that her time of warfare is over,3
that her punishment is completed.4
For the LORD has made her pay double5
for all her sins.”
40:3 A voice cries out,
“In the desert clear a way for the LORD,
construct in the wilderness a road for our God.
40:4 Every valley shall be elevated,
and every mountain and hill leveled.
The rough terrain will become a level plain,
the rugged landscape a wide valley.
40:5 The splendor6
of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people7
will see it at the same time.
For8
the LORD has decreed it.”9
40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
Another asks,10
“What should I cry out?”
The first voice responds:11
“All people are like grass,12
and all their promises13
are like the flowers in the field.
40:7 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
when the wind sent by the LORD14
blows on them.
Surely mankind15
is like grass.
40:8 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”16
40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem!17
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
40:10 Look, the sovereign LORD comes as a victorious
warrior,18
his military power establishes his rule.19
Look, his reward is with him,
his prize goes before him.20
40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock,
he gathers up the lambs with his arm,
he carries them close to his chest,
he leads the ewes along.
The Lord is Incomparable
40:12 Who has measured out the waters21
in the hollow of his hand,
or carefully22
measured the sky,23
or carefully weighed24
the soil of the earth,
or weighed the mountains in a balance,
or the hills on scales?25
40:13 Who comprehends26
the mind27
of the LORD?
or gives him instruction as his counselor?28
40:14 From whom does he receive directions?29
Who30
teaches him the correct technique,31
or imparts knowledge to him,
or instructs him in skillful design?32
40:15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket,
they are regarded as dust on the scales.
He lifts33
the coastlands34
as if they were dust.
40:16 Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood
for a sacrifice,35
its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.36
40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him,
they are regarded as absolutely nothing.37
40:18 To whom can you compare God?
To what image can you liken him?
40:19 A craftsman casts38
an idol,
a metal smith overlays it with gold,
and forges silver chains for it.
40:20 To make a contribution one selects wood that
will not rot,39
he then seeks a skilled craftsman
to make40
an idol that will not fall over.
40:21 Do you not know?
Do you not hear?
Has it not been told to you since the very beginning?
Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?
40:22 He is the one who sits on the earth’s
horizon,41
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him.42
He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain,43
and spreads it out44
like a pitched tent.45
40:23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing,
he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.
40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted,
yes, they are barely sown,
yes, they barely take root in the earth,
and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,
and the wind carries them away like straw.
40:25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”
says the Sovereign Ruler.46
40:26 Look up at the sky!47
Who created all these heavenly lights?48
He is the one who leads out their ranks,49
he calls them all by name.
Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,
not one of them is missing.
40:27 Why do you say, Jacob,
Why do you say, Israel,
“The LORD is not aware of what is happening to me,50
My God is not concerned with my vindication”?51
40:28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is an eternal God,
the creator of the whole earth.52
He does get tired out or weary,
there is no limit to his wisdom.53
40:29 He gives strength to those who are tired out,
to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.
40:30 Even youths get tired out and weary,
even strong young men clumsily stumble.54
40:31 But those who wait for the LORD’s help55
find renewed strength,
they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings,56
they run without getting weary,
they walk without getting tired out.