Isaiah 40:1-20

The Lord Returns to Jerusalem

40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your God.

40:2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her

that her time of warfare is over,

that her punishment is completed.

For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”

40:3 A voice cries out,

“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;

construct in the desert a road for our God.

40:4 Every valley must 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 splendor of the Lord will be revealed,

and all people will see it at the same time.

For the Lord has decreed it.”

40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”

Another asks, “What should I cry out?”

The first voice responds: “All people are like grass,

and all their promises are like the flowers in the field.

40:7 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

when the wind sent by the Lord blows on them.

Surely humanity is like grass.

40:8 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”

40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!

Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem!

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;

his military power establishes his rule.

Look, his reward is with him;

his prize goes before him.

40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;

he gathers up the lambs with his arm;

he carries them close to his heart;

he leads the ewes along.

The Lord is Incomparable

40:12 Who has measured out the waters in the hollow of his hand,

or carefully measured the sky,

or carefully weighed the soil of the earth,

or weighed the mountains in a balance,

or the hills on scales?

40:13 Who comprehends the mind of the Lord,

or gives him instruction as his counselor?

40:14 From whom does he receive directions?

Who teaches him the correct way to do things,

or imparts knowledge to him,

or instructs him in skillful design?

40:15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are regarded as dust on the scales.

He lifts the coastlands as if they were dust.

40:16 Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice;

its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.

40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him;

they are regarded as absolutely nothing.

40:18 To whom can you compare God?

To what image can you liken him?

40:19 A craftsman casts an idol;

a metalsmith overlays it with gold

and forges silver chains for it.

40:20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot;

he then seeks a skilled craftsman

to make an idol that will not fall over.