Isaiah 40

¹“Be consoled, be consoled, O my people!” says your God.

²Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out to her! For her malice has reached its end. Her iniquity has been forgiven. She has received double for all her sins from the hand of the Lord.

³The voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight the paths of our God, in a solitary place.

⁴Every valley will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. And the crooked will be straightened, and the uneven will become level ways.

⁵And the glory of the Lord will be revealed. And all flesh together will see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

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

⁷The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. For the Spirit of the Lord has blown over it. Truly, the people are like grass.

⁸The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. But the Word of our Lord remains for eternity.”

⁹You who evangelize Zion, climb a high mountain! You who evangelize Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah: “Behold, your God!”

¹⁰Behold, the Lord God will arrive in strength, and his arm will rule. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him.

¹¹He will pasture his flock like a shepherd. He will gather together the lambs with his arm, and he will lift them up to his bosom, and he himself will carry the very young.

¹²Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and who has weighed the heavens with his palm? Who has suspended the mass of the earth with three fingers, and who has weighed the mountains on a balance and the hills on a scale?

¹³Who has assisted the Spirit of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor and has revealed things to him?

¹⁴With whom has he consulted? And who has instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and guided him to knowledge, and revealed the way of understanding to him?

¹⁵Behold, the nations are like a drop of water in a bucket, and they are considered as the smallest grain on a balance. Behold, the islands are like a little dust.

¹⁶And Lebanon will not be sufficient to start a fire, and its animals will not be sufficient for a burnt offering.

¹⁷All the nations in his sight are as if they did not exist, and they are considered by him as if they were nothingness and emptiness.

¹⁸Therefore, to whom would you liken God? Or with what image would you replace him?

¹⁹Should the workman cast a statue? Or has the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?

²⁰He has chosen strong wood that will not decay. The skillful artisan seeks a way to set up an idol that cannot be moved.

²¹Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been announced to you from the beginning? Have you not understood the foundations of the earth?

²²He is the One who sits upon the globe of the earth, and its inhabitants are like locusts. He extends the heavens as if they were nothing, and he spreads them out like a tent, in which to dwell.

²³He has brought those who examine what is secret to nothingness. He has brought the judges of the earth to emptiness.

²⁴And certainly, their stalk was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the ground. He has suddenly blown across them, and they have withered, and a whirlwind will carry them away like chaff.

²⁵“And to whom would you compare me or equate me?” says the Holy One.

²⁶Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things. He leads forth their army by number, and he calls them all by name. Because of the fullness of his strength and robustness and virtue, not one of them was left behind.

²⁷Why do you say this, O Jacob, and why do you speak this way, O Israel? “My way has been hidden from the Lord, and my judgment escaped notice by my God.”

²⁸Do you not know, or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, who has created the limits of the earth. He does not diminish, and he does not struggle. Neither is his wisdom searchable.

²⁹It is he who gives strength to the weary, and it is he who increases fortitude and strength in those who are failing.

³⁰Servants will struggle and fail, and young men will fall into infirmity.

³¹But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.

Isaiah 40

¹Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God.

²Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.

³The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God.

⁴Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain.

⁵And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.

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

⁷The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen, because the spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Indeed the people is grass:

⁸The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth for ever.

⁹Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:

¹⁰Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.

¹¹He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.

¹²Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm? who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

¹³Who hath forwarded the spirit of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor, and hath taught him?

¹⁴With whom hath he consulted, and who hath instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?

¹⁵Behold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a balance: behold the islands are as a little dust.

¹⁶And Libanus shall not be enough to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

¹⁷All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to him as nothing, and vanity.

¹⁸To whom then have you likened God? or what image will you make for him?

¹⁹Hath the workman cast a graven statue? or hath the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?

²⁰He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot: the skilful workman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.

²¹Do you not know? hath it not been heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood the foundations of the earth?

²²It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.

²³He that bringeth the searchers of secrets to nothing, that hath made the judges of the earth as vanity.

²⁴And surely their stock was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the earth: suddenly he hath blown upon them, and they are withered, and a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

²⁵And to whom have ye likened me, or made me equal, saith the Holy One?

²⁶Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things: who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by their names: by the greatness of his might, and strength, and power, not one of them was 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?

²⁸Knowest thou not, or hast thou not heard? the Lord is the everlasting God, who hath created the ends of the earth: he shall not faint, nor labour, neither is there any searching out of his wisdom.

²⁹It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force and might to them that are not.

³⁰You shall faint, and labour, and young men shall fall by infirmity.

³¹But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.