Isaiah 40:1–14

aComfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

2  Speak ye †comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her,

That her ||warfare is accomplished,

That her iniquity is pardoned:

For she hath received of the Lord’s hand bdouble for all her sins.

3  cThe voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, dPrepare ye the way of the Lord,

eMake straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4  fEvery valley shall be exalted,

And egevery mountain and hill shall be made low:

And hthe crooked shall be made ||straight,

And the rough places ||plain:

5  And ithe glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

kAnd all flesh shall see it together:

lFor the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

6  The voice said, Cry.

And he said, What shall I cry?

mAll flesh is npgrass,

And all the goodliness thereof is as opthe flower of the field:

7  mqThe grass withereth, othe flower fadeth:

Because rthe spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it:

Surely sthe people is ngrass.

8  mThe grass withereth, the flower fadeth:

tBut uthe word of our God shall stand for ever.

9  ||O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain;

||O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength;

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

10  Behold, the Lord God will come ||wwith strong hand,

And xhis arm shall rule for him:

yBehold, his reward is with him,

yAnd ||his work before him.

11  zHe shall afeed his flock like a shepherd:

bHe shall gather athe lambs with his arm,

And ccarry them in his bosom,

And dshall gently lead those ||that are with young.

12  eWho hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

And imeted out heaven with the span,

And comprehended the dust of the earth in †a measure,

And fweighed the mountains in gscales,

And the hills in ga balance?

13  hWho hath idirected the Spirit of the Lord,

jOr being †his counseller hath taught him?

14  With whom took he counsel, and who †instructed him,

And taught him in the path of judgment,

And ktaught him knowledge,

And shewed to him the way of †understanding?