God’s People Comforted
says your God.
2“Speak tenderly to40:2 Lit Speak to the heart of Jerusalem,
and announce to her
that her time of hard service is over,
and she has received from the Lord’s hand
3A voice of one crying out:
4Every valley will be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled;
the uneven ground will become smooth
and the rough places, a plain.40:4–5 Lk 3:5–6
6A voice was saying, “Cry out!”
Another said,40:6 DSS, LXX, Vg read I said “What should I cry out?”
“All humanity is grass,40:6–8 1Pt 1:24–25
7The grass withers, the flowers fade
when the breath40:7 Or wind, or Spirit of the Lord blows on them;40:7 Lit it
indeed, the people are grass.
9Zion, herald of good news,
go up on a high mountain.40:9 Is 52:7
Jerusalem, herald of good news,40:9 Is 61:1
raise your voice loudly.
Raise it, do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
10See, the Lord God comes with strength,
and his power establishes his rule.40:10 Is 59:16–18
and his reward accompanies him.
he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them in the fold of his garment.
He gently leads those that are nursing.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?40:12 Is 48:13; Heb 1:10–12
Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure
or weighed the mountains on a balance
and the hills on the scales?
14Who did he consult?
and taught him the paths of justice?
Who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of understanding?
15Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;
he lifts up the islands like fine dust.
16Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel,
or its animals enough for a burnt offering.40:16 Ps 50:9–11; Mc 6:6–7; Heb 10:5–9
17All the nations are as nothing before him;
they are considered by him
as empty nothingness.40:17 Is 29:7
18With whom will you compare God?
What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?40:18 Ex 8:10; 15:11; 1Sm 2:2; Is 40:25; 46:5; Mc 7:18; Ac 17:29
19An idol? — something that a smelter casts
and a metalworker plates with gold
20A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal
that will not rot.40:20 Or who is too poor for such an offering, or who chooses mulberry wood as a votive gift; Hb obscure
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not fall over.40:20 1Sm 5:3; Is 44:9–15; 46:6–7; Jr 10:3–5
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you
from the beginning?
Have you not considered
22God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.40:22 Nm 13:33
and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.
24They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.40:24 Ps 1:4; Is 41:2,16; 64:6; Ezk 17:10,24; Nah 1:4
or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26Look up and see!
He brings out the stars by number;
he calls all of them by name.40:26 Ps 147:4–5
Because of his great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.
27Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never becomes faint or weary;
29He gives strength to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.
30Youths may become faint and weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;40:31 Jb 17:9; Ps 103:5; 2Co 4:8–10,16; 12:9
they will run and not become weary,
they will walk and not faint.
Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard
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