Isaiah 40:6–31

⁶A voice says, “Cry out.”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,ⁱ

and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.

⁷The grass withers^j and the flowers fall,

because the breath^k of the Lord blows^l on them.

Surely the people are grass.

⁸The grass withers and the flowers^m fall,

but the wordⁿ of our God endures^o forever.^p”

⁹You who bring good news^q to Zion,

go up on a high mountain.

You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^cr

lift up your voice with a shout,

lift it up, do not be afraid;

say to the towns of Judah,

“Here is your God!”^s

¹⁰See, the Sovereign Lord comes^t with power,^u

and he rules^v with a mighty arm.^w

See, his reward^x is with him,

and his recompense accompanies him.

¹¹He tends his flock like a shepherd:^y

He gathers the lambs in his arms^z

and carries them close to his heart;^a

he gently leads^b those that have young.^c

¹²Who has measured the waters^d in the hollow of his hand,^e

or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?^f

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

or weighed the mountains on the scales

and the hills in a balance?^g

¹³Who can fathom the Spirit^dh of the Lord,

or instruct the Lord as his counselor?ⁱ

¹⁴Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,

and who taught him the right way?

Who was it that taught him knowledge,^j

or showed him the path of understanding?^k

¹⁵Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are regarded as dust on the scales;^l

he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.^m

¹⁶Lebanonⁿ is not sufficient for altar fires,

nor its animals^o enough for burnt offerings.

¹⁷Before him all the nations^p are as nothing;^q

they are regarded by him as worthless

and less than nothing.^r

¹⁸With whom, then, will you compare God?^s

To what image^t will you liken him?

¹⁹As for an idol,^u a metalworker casts it,

and a goldsmith^v overlays it with gold^w

and fashions silver chains for it.

²⁰A person too poor to present such an offering

selects wood^x that will not rot;

they look for a skilled worker

to set up an idol^y that will not topple.^z

²¹Do you not know?

Have you not heard?^a

Has it not been told^b you from the beginning?^c

Have you not understood^d since the earth was founded?^e

²²He sits enthroned^f above the circle of the earth,

and its people are like grasshoppers.^g

He stretches out the heavens^h like a canopy,ⁱ

and spreads them out like a tent^j to live in.^k

²³He brings princes^l to naught

and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.^m

²⁴No sooner are they planted,

no sooner are they sown,

no sooner do they take rootⁿ in the ground,

than he blows^o on them and they wither,^p

and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.^q

²⁵“To whom will you compare me?^r

Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.^s

²⁶Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:^t

Who created^u all these?

He who brings out the starry host^v one by one

and calls forth each of them by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,^w

not one of them is missing.^x

²⁷Why do you complain, Jacob?

Why do you say, Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord;

my cause is disregarded by my God”?^y

²⁸Do you not know?

Have you not heard?^z

The Lord is the everlasting^a God,

the Creator^b of the ends of the earth.^c

He will not grow tired or weary,^d

and his understanding no one can fathom.^e

²⁹He gives strength^f to the weary^g

and increases the power of the weak.

³⁰Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men^h stumble and fall;ⁱ

³¹but those who hope^j in the Lord

will renew their strength.^k

They will soar on wings like eagles;^l

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.^m