Isaiah 40

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

²Speak 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.

^3cThe 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.

^4fEvery 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:

⁵And ⁱthe glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

^kAnd all flesh shall see it together:

^lFor the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

⁶The 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:

^7mqThe grass withereth, ^othe flower fadeth:

Because ^rthe spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it:

Surely ^sthe people is ⁿgrass.

^8mThe 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!

¹⁰Behold, 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.

^11zHe 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.

^12eWho 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?

^13hWho hath ⁱdirected the Spirit of the Lord,

^jOr being ^†his counseller hath taught him?

¹⁴With 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?

¹⁵Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket,

And are counted as ^lthe small dust of the balance:

Behold, he taketh up ^mthe isles ⁿas a very little thing.

¹⁶And ^oLebanon is not sufficient to burn,

Nor ^pthe beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

¹⁷All nations before him are ^qas ^rnothing;

And ^qthey are counted to him less than ^rnothing, and ^svanity.

^18tTo whom then will ye liken God?

Or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

^19uThe workman melteth a graven image,

And ^xthe goldsmith ^yspreadeth it over with gold,

And casteth silver chains.

²⁰He that ^†is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot;

He seeketh unto him a cunning workman

To prepare a graven image, ^zthat shall not be moved.

^21aHave ye not known? have ye not heard?

Hath it not been told you from the beginning?

^aHave ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

^22||It is he that sitteth upon ^bthe circle of the earth,

And the inhabitants thereof are ^cas grasshoppers;

^dThat stretcheth out the heavens ^eas a curtain,

And spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

^23fThat bringeth the princes to ^gnothing;

He maketh the judges of the earth as ^gvanity.

²⁴Yea, they shall not be planted;

Yea, they shall not be sown:

Yea, their ^hstock shall not take root in the earth:

And he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither,

And ⁱthe whirlwind shall take them away ^kas stubble.

^25lTo whom then will ye ^mliken me, or ^mshall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

^26mmLift up your eyes on high,

And behold who hath created these things,

ⁿThat bringeth out their host by number:

^oHe calleth them all by names

By ^pthe greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power;

^qNot one faileth.

²⁷Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel,

^rMy way is hid from the Lord,

And ^smy judgment is passed over from my God?

^28aHast thou not known? ^ahast thou not heard,

That the everlasting God, the Lord,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Fainteth not, neither is weary?

^ptThere is no searching of his understanding.

²⁹He giveth power to the faint;

And to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

³⁰Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall:

³¹But ^uthey that wait upon the Lord ^vwshall ^†renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings ^wxas eagles;

They shall run, and not be weary;

And they shall walk, and not faint.