Book of Isaiah, Chapter 40
Isaiah 40 NASB - New American Standard BibleChapter 40 of Isaiah—New American Standard Bible (NASB)
- ¶ “1Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
- “2Speak [a]kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her [b]3warfare has ended,
That her [c]4iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the LORD’S hand
5Double for all her sins.” - ¶ 6A voice [d]is calling,
“7Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. - “Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley; - [e]Then the 8glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And 9all flesh will see it together;
For the 10mouth of the LORD has spoken.” - A voice says, “Call out.”
Then [f]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
11All flesh is grass, and all its [g]loveliness is like the flower of the field. - The 12grass withers, the flower fades,
[h]When the 13breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass. - The grass withers, the flower fades,
But 14the word of our God stands forever. - ¶ Get yourself up on a 15high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of 16good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear.
Say to the 17cities of Judah,
“18Here is your God!” - Behold, the Lord [i]GOD will come 19with might,
With His 20arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His 21reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him. - Like a shepherd He will 22tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes. - ¶ Who has 23measured the [j]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens by the [k]span,
And [l]calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales? - 24Who has [m]directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His 25counselor has informed Him? - 26With whom did He consult and who 27gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding? - Behold, the 28nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of 29dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the [n]islands like fine dust. - Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its 30beasts enough for a burnt offering. - 31All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and [o]meaningless. - ¶ 32To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him? - As for the [p]33idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith 34plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver. - He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a 35tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To [q]prepare [r]an idol that 36will not totter. - ¶ 37Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood 38from the foundations of the earth? - It is He who [s]sits above the [t]39circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like 40grasshoppers,
Who 41stretches out the heavens like a 42curtain
And spreads them out like a 43tent to dwell in. - He it is who reduces 44rulers to nothing,
Who 45makes the judges of the earth [u]meaningless. - [v]Scarcely have they been planted,
[w]Scarcely have they been sown,
[x]Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the 46storm carries them away like stubble. - “47To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. - 48Lift up your eyes on high
And see 49who has created these stars,
The 50One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the 51greatness of His might and the [y]strength of His power,
52Not one of them is missing. - ¶ 53Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is 54hidden from the LORD,
And the 55justice due me [z]escapes the notice of 56my God”? - 57Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The 58Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is 59inscrutable. - He gives strength to the 60weary,
And to him who lacks might He 61increases power. - Though 62youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous 63young men stumble badly, - Yet those who [aa]wait for the LORD
Will 64gain new strength;
They will [ab]65mount up with [ac]wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
FOOTNOTES
- ^ Lit to the heart of
- ^ Or hard service
- ^ Or penalty of iniquity accepted as paid off
- ^ Or of one calling out
- ^ Or In order that the
- ^ Another reading is I said
- ^ Or constancy
- ^ Or Because
- ^ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- ^ DSS reads waters of the sea
- ^ Or half cubit; i.e. 9 in.
- ^ Lit contained or comprehended
- ^ Or measured, marked off
- ^ Or coastlands
- ^ Or void
- ^ Or graven image
- ^ Or set up
- ^ Or a graven image
- ^ Or is enthroned
- ^ Or vault
- ^ Or void
- ^ Or Not even
- ^ Or Not even
- ^ Or Not even
- ^ So DSS and ancient versions; M.T. strong
- ^ Lit passes by my God
- ^ Or hope in
- ^ Or sprout wings
- ^ Or pinions
REFERENCES
- ^ Is 12:1; 49:13; 51:3, 12; 52:9; 61:2; 66:13; Je 31:10-14; Zp 3:14-17; 2Co 1:4
- ^ Is 35:4; Zc 1:13
- ^ Is 41:11-13; 49:25; 54:15, 17
- ^ Is 33:24; 53:5, 6, 11
- ^ Je 16:18; Zc 9:12; Re 18:6
- ^ Mt 3:3; Mr 1:3; Lu 3:4-6; Jn 1:23
- ^ Ml 3:1; 4:5, 6
- ^ Is 6:3; Hab 2:14
- ^ Is 52:10; Jl 2:28
- ^ Is 1:20; 34:16; 58:14
- ^ Jb 14:2; Ps 102:11; 103:15; 1Pe 1:24, 25
- ^ Ps 90:5, 6; Jm 1:10, 11
- ^ Jb 4:9; 41:21; Is 11:4; 40:24
- ^ Is 55:11; 59:21; Mt 5:18
- ^ Is 52:7
- ^ Is 61:1
- ^ Is 44:26
- ^ Is 25:9; 35:2
- ^ Is 9:6, 7
- ^ Is 59:16, 18
- ^ Is 62:11; Re 22:12
- ^ Je 31:10; Eze 34:12-14, 23, 31; Mc 5:4; Jn 10:11, 14-16
- ^ Jb 38:8-11; Ps 102:25, 26; Is 48:13; Heb 1:10-12
- ^ Ro 11:34; 1Co 2:16
- ^ Is 41:28
- ^ Jb 38:4
- ^ Jb 21:22; Col 2:3
- ^ Je 10:10
- ^ Is 17:13; 29:5
- ^ Ps 50:9-11; Mc 6:6, 7; Heb 10:5-9
- ^ Is 29:7
- ^ Ex 8:10; 15:11; 1Sa 2:2; Is 40:25; 46:5; Mc 7:18; Ac 17:29
- ^ Ps 115:4-8; Is 41:7; 44:10; Hab 2:18, 19
- ^ Is 2:20; 30:22
- ^ Is 44:14
- ^ 1Sa 5:3, 4; Is 41:7; 46:7
- ^ Ps 19:1; 50:6; Is 37:26; Ac 14:17; Ro 1:19
- ^ Is 48:13; 51:13
- ^ Jb 22:14; Pr 8:27
- ^ Nu 13:33
- ^ Jb 9:8; Is 37:16; 42:5; 44:24
- ^ Ps 104:2
- ^ Jb 36:29; Ps 18:11; 19:4
- ^ Jb 12:21; Ps 107:40; Is 34:12
- ^ Is 5:21; Je 25:18-27
- ^ Is 17:13; 41:16
- ^ Is 40:18
- ^ Is 51:6
- ^ Is 42:5; 48:12, 13
- ^ Ps 147:4
- ^ Ps 89:11-13
- ^ Is 34:16; 48:13
- ^ Is 49:4, 14
- ^ Is 54:8
- ^ Jb 27:2; 34:5; Lu 18:7, 8
- ^ Is 25:1
- ^ Is 40:21
- ^ Ge 21:33; Ps 90:2
- ^ Ps 147:5; Ro 11:33
- ^ Is 50:4; Je 31:25
- ^ Is 41:10
- ^ Je 6:11; 9:21
- ^ Is 9:17
- ^ Jb 17:9; Ps 103:5; 2Co 4:8-10, 16
- ^ Ex 19:4; De 32:11; Lu 18:1; 2Co 4:1, 16; Ga 6:9; Heb 12:3
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