Isaiah

Prepare the Way for the LORD

1“Comfort, comfort My people,”says your God.

2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,and proclaim to herthat her forced labor has been completed;her iniquity has been pardoned.For she has received from the hand of the LORDdouble for all her sins.”

3A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness;make a straight highway for our God in the desert.

4Every valley shall be lifted up,and every mountain and hill made low;the uneven ground will become smooth,and the rugged land a plain.

5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,and all humanity together will see it.”For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

The Enduring Word

6A 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.

7The grass withers and the flowers fallwhen the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.

8The grass withers and the flowers fall,but the word of our God stands forever.”

Here Is Your God!

9Go 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!”

10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,and His arm establishes His rule.His reward is with Him,and His recompense accompanies Him.

11He tends His flock like a shepherd;He gathers the lambs in His armsand carries them close to His heart.He gently leads the nursing ewes.

12Who 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?

13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,or informed Him as His counselor?

14Whom did He consult to enlighten Him,and who taught Him the paths of justice?Who imparted knowledge to Himand showed Him the way of understanding?

15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islandslike fine dust.

16Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel,nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.

17All the nations are as nothing before Him;He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.

18To whom will you liken God?To what image will you compare Him?

19To an idol that a craftsman castsand a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

20One lacking such an offeringchooses wood that will not rot.He seeks a skilled craftsmanto set up an idol that will not topple.

21Do 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?

22He 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 dwell in.

23He brings the princes to nothingand makes the rulersof the earth meaningless.

24No 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.

25“To whom will you liken Me,or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

26Lift 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.

27Why 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”?

28Do you not know?Have you not heard?The LORD is the everlasting God,the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary;His understanding is beyond searching out.

29He gives power to the faintand increases the strength of the weak.

30Even youths grow tired and weary,and young men stumble and fall.

31But 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.

1“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.

2“Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.”

3The voice of one who calls out,“Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God.

4Every valley shall be exalted,and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain.

5The LORD’s glory shall be revealed,and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.”

6The voice of one saying, “Cry out!”One said, “What shall I cry?”“All flesh is like grass,and all its glory is like the flower of the field.

7The grass withers,the flower fades, because the LORD’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.

8The grass withers,the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever.”

9You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain.You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Don’t be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold, your God!”

10Behold, the Lord GOD will come as a mighty one,and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

11He will feed his flock like a shepherd.He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.

12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measuring basket, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

13Who has directed the LORD’s Spirit,or has taught him as his counselor?

14Who did he take counsel with,and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

15Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket,and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.

16Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering.

17All the nations are like nothing before him.They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.

18To whom then will you liken God?Or what likeness will you compare to him?

19A workman has cast an image,and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.

20He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot.He seeks a skillful workman to set up a carved image for him that will not be moved.

21Haven’t you known?Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth?

22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in,

23who brings princes to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

24They are planted scarcely.They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.

25“To whom then will you liken me?Who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

26Lift up your eyes on high,and see who has created these, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.

27Why do you say, Jacob,and speak, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me is disregarded by my God”?

28Haven’t you known?Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

29He gives power to the weak.He increases the strength of him who has no might.

30Even the youths faint and get weary,and the young men utterly fall;

31but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.