Isaiah 40

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

1"Comfort my people. Comfort them," says your God.

2Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

2"Speak gently to the city of Jerusalem. Tell her that her hard time is over. Tell her that her sin is forgiven. She has received from the LORD twice as much for all her sins."

NoteThe King James word here is "warfare," but it does not mean a battle. It means a long, hard time of service that has now come to an end.

3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

3A voice calls out: "Get a road ready for the LORD in the empty land. Make a straight road for our God through the desert."

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

4Every low valley will be lifted up. Every mountain and hill will be made low. Bumpy ground will turn smooth. Rough land will turn flat.

5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

5Then everyone will see how great the LORD is. They will all see it together. The LORD himself has said so.

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

6A voice said, "Call out!" And I asked, "What should I say?" Say this: people are like grass. All their beauty is like a flower in a field.

7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

7Grass dries up. Flowers drop off. This happens when the breath of the LORD blows on them. Yes, people are like grass.

8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

8Grass dries up and flowers drop off. But the word of our God lasts forever.

9O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

9Zion, you carry good news. Climb up a high mountain. Jerusalem, you carry good news. Shout out loud and strong. Do not be afraid. Say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!"

10Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

10Look, the Lord GOD is coming with great power. His strong arm will rule. He brings his reward with him. He brings his pay with him.

11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

11He cares for his people like a shepherd cares for sheep. He gathers the lambs up in his arms. He holds them close to his chest. He gently leads the mother sheep.

12Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

12Who has measured all the water in the palm of his hand? Who has measured the heavens with the width of his hand? Who has held all the dirt of the earth in a basket? Who has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?

13Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

13Who has told the Spirit of the LORD what to do? Who has given God advice?

14With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

14Who did God ask for help? Who taught him what is right and fair? Who gave him knowledge? Who showed him how to understand?

15Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

15Look, all the nations are like one drop in a bucket. They are like a speck of dust on a scale. God picks up the islands like fine dust.

16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

16All the trees in the land of Lebanon are not enough wood for the fire. All its animals are not enough for a burnt offering.

NoteA burnt offering was a gift to God. An animal was placed on an altar and burned there. Lebanon was a land known for its huge forests.

17All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

17All the nations are nothing next to God. To him they count as less than nothing. They are empty.

18To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

18So who can you compare God to? What picture could look like him?

19The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

19Could you compare him to an idol, a statue that people pray to? A worker shapes it from metal. Another covers it with gold and adds silver chains.

20He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

20Or to the statue a poor man makes? He is too poor to bring a gift, so he picks wood that will not rot. He finds a skilled worker to set up a statue that will not fall over.

21Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Were you not told this long ago? Have you not understood since the world began?

22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

22God sits above the circle of the earth. The people living on it look as small as grasshoppers. He spreads the heavens out like a curtain. He opens them like a tent to live in.

23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

23He turns powerful rulers into nothing. He makes the judges of the earth count for nothing.

24Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

24They are barely planted. Their roots have barely gone into the ground. Then he blows on them and they dry up. A strong wind carries them off like dry straw.

25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

25"So who can you compare me to? Who is equal to me?" asks the Holy One.

26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

26Look up high. Who made all these stars? He leads them out and counts them. He calls every one of them by name. He is so strong that not one of them is missing.

27Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

27So why do you say this, people of Jacob and Israel? You say, "The LORD cannot see the road I walk. My God pays no attention when I ask for fair treatment."

28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is God forever. He made the whole earth, from end to end. He never gets tired or worn out. No one can measure how much he understands.

29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

29He gives power to people who are worn out. He makes weak people strong.

30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

30Even young people get tired and worn out. Even strong young men trip and fall.

31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

31But those who wait for the LORD get new strength. They will fly up like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak.