GOD’S PEOPLE COMFORTED

40 “Comfort, comfort my people,”t

says your God.

2 “Speak tenderly toA Jerusalem,

and announce to her

that her time of hard service is over,

her iniquityu has been pardoned,v

and she has received from the Lord’s hand

double for all her sins.”w

3 A voice of one crying out:

Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness;x

make a straight highway for our God in the desert.y

4 Every valley will be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill will be leveled;

the uneven ground will become smooth

and the rough places, a plain.z

5 And the glory of the Lord will appear,aa

and all humanityB together will see it,ab

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.ac

6 A voice was saying, “Cry out!”

Another said,C “What should I cry out?”

“All humanity is grass,ad

and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.a

7 The grass withers, the flowers fade

when the breathA of the Lord blows on them;B

indeed, the people are grass.

8 The grass withers, the flowers fade,b

but the word of our God remains forever.”c

9 Zion, herald of good news,

go up on a high mountain.d

Jerusalem, herald of good news,e

raise your voice loudly.

Raise it, do not be afraid!

Say to the cities of Judah,

“Here is your God!”f

10 See, the Lord God comes with strength,

and his power establishes his rule.g

His wages are with him,h

and his reward accompanies him.