CHAPTER 40
“Speak
tenderly to
Jerusalem,
and proclaim
to her
that
her forced labor
has been completed,
her iniquity
has been pardoned;
for
she has received
from the hand
of the LORD
double
for all
her sins.”
A voice
of one calling:
“Prepare
the way
for the LORD
in the wilderness;
make a straight
highway
for our God
in the desert.
Every
valley
shall be lifted up,
and every
mountain
and hill
made low;
the uneven
ground will become
smooth,
and the rugged land
a plain.
And the glory
of the LORD
will be revealed,
and all
mankind
together
will see it.
For
the mouth
of the LORD
has spoken.”
A voice
says,
“Cry out!”
And I asked,
“What
should I cry out?”
“All
flesh
is like grass,
and all
its glory
like the flowers
of the field.
The grass
withers,
the flowers
fall
when
the breath
of the LORD
blows on them;
indeed,
the people
are grass.
Go up
on
a high
mountain,
O Zion,
herald of good news.
Raise
your voice loudly,
O Jerusalem,
herald of good news.
Lift it up,
do not
be afraid!
Say
to the cities
of Judah,
“Here
is your God!”
Behold,
the Lord
GOD
comes
with might,
and His arm
establishes His rule.
His reward
is with Him,
and His recompense
accompanies Him.
He tends
His flock
like a shepherd;
He gathers
the lambs
in His arms
and carries them
close to His heart.
He gently leads
the nursing ewes.
Who
has measured
the waters
in the hollow of his hand,
or marked off
the heavens
with the span of his hand?
Who has held
the dust
of the earth
in a basket,
or weighed
the mountains
on a scale
and the hills
with a balance?
Whom
did He consult
to enlighten Him,
and who taught Him
the paths
of justice?
Who imparted
knowledge to Him
and showed
Him the way
of understanding?
Surely
the nations
are like a drop
in a bucket;
they are considered
a speck of dust
on the scales;
He lifts up
the islands
like fine dust.
To an idol
that a craftsman
casts
and a metalworker
overlays
with gold
and fits with
silver
chains?
To one bereft
of an offering
who chooses
wood
that does not
rot?
He looks for
a skilled
craftsman
to set up
an idol
that will not
fall over.
Do you not
know?
Have you not
heard?
Has it not
been declared to you
from the beginning?
Have you not
understood
since the foundation
of the earth?
He sits enthroned
above
the circle
of the earth;
its dwellers
are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out
the heavens
like a curtain,
and spreads them out
like a tent
to live in.
No sooner
are they planted,
no sooner
are they sown,
no sooner
have their stems
taken root
in the ground,
than
He blows
on them
and they wither,
and a whirlwind
sweeps them away
like stubble.
Lift up
your eyes
on high:
Who
created
all these?
He leads forth
the starry host
by number;
He calls
each one
by name.
Because of His great
power
and mighty
strength,
not
one of them
is missing.
Why
do you say,
O Jacob,
and why do you assert,
O Israel,
“My way
is hidden
from the LORD,
and my claim
is ignored
by my God”?
Do you not
know?
Have you not
heard?
The LORD
is the everlasting
God,
the Creator
of the ends
of the earth.
He will never
grow faint
or weary;
His understanding
is beyond
searching out.
But those who wait
upon the LORD
will renew
their strength;
they will mount up
with wings
like eagles;
they will run
and not
grow weary;
they will walk
and not
faint.