Isaiah 39–40

39TH CHAPTER

Hezekiah Shows the Babylonians His Treasures—2 Kings 20:12–19; 2 Chronicles 32:31–33

¹At that time Baladan’s son, King Merodach Baladan of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah. He had heard that Hezekiah had been sick and had recovered. ²Hezekiah was so happy with them that he showed the messengers his warehouse: the silver, gold, balsam, fine olive oil, his entire armory, and everything in his treasury. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and every corner of his kingdom. 

³Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did these men say? And where did they come from?” 

Hezekiah answered, “They came to me from the distant country of Babylon.” 

⁴Isaiah asked, “What did they see in your palace?” 

Hezekiah answered, “They saw everything in my palace, and I showed them everything in my treasury.” 

⁵Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of Armies! ⁶The Lord says, ‘The days are going to come when everything in your palace, everything your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be taken away to Babylon. Nothing will be left. ⁷Some of your own descendants will be taken away. They will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ” 

⁸Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word that you have spoken is good.” He added, “Just let there be peace and security as long as I live.” 

40TH CHAPTER

Comfort My People

¹“Comfort my people! Comfort them!” says your God. 

²“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and announce to it 

that its time of hard labor is over 

and its wrongs have been paid for. 

It has received from the Lord double for all its sins.” 

³A voice cries out in the desert: 

“Clear a way for the Lord. 

Make a straight highway in the wilderness for our God. 

⁴Every valley will be raised. 

Every mountain and hill will be lowered. 

Steep places will be made level. 

Rough places will be made smooth. 

⁵Then the Lord’s glory will be revealed 

and all people will see it together. 

The Lord has spoken.” 

⁶A voice called, “Call out!” 

I asked, “What should I call out?” 

“Call out: All people are like grass, 

and all their beauty is like a flower in the field. 

⁷Grass dries up, 

and flowers wither when the Lord’s breath blows on them. 

Yes, people are like grass. 

⁸Grass dries up, 

and flowers wither, 

but our God’s word will last forever.” 

⁹Go up a high mountain, Zion. 

Tell the good news! 

Call out with a loud voice, Jerusalem. 

Tell the good news! 

Raise your voice without fear. 

Tell the cities of Judah: 

“Here is your God!” 

¹⁰The Almighty Lord is coming with power 

to rule with authority. 

His reward is with him, 

and the people he has won arrive ahead of him. 

¹¹Like a shepherd he takes care of his flock. 

He gathers the lambs in his arms. 

He carries them in his arms. 

He gently helps the sheep and their lambs. 

God Gives Strength to Those Who Depend on Him

¹²Who has measured the water of the sea^awith the palm of his hand 

or measured the sky with the length of his hand? 

Who has held the dust of the earth in a bushel basket 

or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills on a balance? 

¹³Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord 

or instructed him as his adviser? 

¹⁴Whom did he consult? 

Who gave him understanding? 

Who taught him the right way? 

Who taught him knowledge? 

Who informed him about the way to understanding? 

¹⁵The nations are like a drop in a bucket 

and are considered to be like dust on a scale. 

The weight of the islands is like fine dust. 

¹⁶All the trees in Lebanon are not enough to burn an offering. 

Its wild animals are not enough for a single burnt offering. 

¹⁷All the nations amount to nothing in his presence. 

He considers them less than nothing and worthless. 

¹⁸To whom, then, can you compare God? 

To what statue can you compare him? 

¹⁹Craftsmen make idols. 

Goldsmiths cover them with gold. 

Silversmiths make silver chains for them. 

²⁰The poorest people choose wood that will not rot 

and search out skillful craftsmen 

to set up idols that will not fall over. 

²¹Don’t you know? 

Haven’t you heard? 

Haven’t you been told from the beginning? 

Don’t you understand the foundations of the earth? 

²²God is enthroned above the earth, 

and those who live on it are like grasshoppers. 

He stretches out the sky like a canopy 

and spreads it out like a tent to live in. 

²³He makes rulers unimportant 

and makes earthly judges worth nothing. 

²⁴They have hardly been planted. 

They have hardly been sown. 

They have hardly taken root in the ground. 

Then he blows on them and they wither, 

and a windstorm sweeps them away like straw. 

²⁵“To whom, then, can you compare me? 

Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. 

²⁶Look at the sky and see. 

Who created these things? 

Who brings out the stars one by one? 

He calls them all by name. 

Because of the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, 

not one of them is missing. 

²⁷Jacob, why do you complain? 

Israel, why do you say, 

“My way is hidden from the Lord, 

and my rights are ignored by my God”? 

²⁸Don’t you know? 

Haven’t you heard? 

The eternal God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, 

doesn’t grow tired or become weary. 

His understanding is beyond reach. 

²⁹He gives strength to those who grow tired 

and increases the strength of those who are weak. 

³⁰Even young people grow tired and become weary, 

and young men will stumble and fall. 

³¹Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord 

will be renewed. 

They will soar on wings like eagles. 

They will run and won’t become weary. 

They will walk and won’t grow tired.