| Berean Study Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. | 1Comfort, comfort My people," says your God." |
| 2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.” | 2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and announce to her that her time of forced labor is over, her iniquity has been pardoned, and she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins." |
| 3A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. | 3A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. |
| 4Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. | 4Every 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. |
| 5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” | 5And the glory of the LORD will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. |
| 6A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. | 6A voice was saying, "Cry out!" Another said, "What should I cry out?"" All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field. |
| 7The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. | 7The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. |
| 8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” | 8The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever." |
| 9Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” | 9Zion, herald of good news, go up on a high mountain. Jerusalem, herald of good news, raise your voice loudly. Raise it, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah," Here is your God!" |
| 10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. | 10See, the Lord GOD comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him. |
| 11He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes. | 11He protects His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the fold of His garment. He gently leads those that are nursing. |
| 12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance? | 12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure or weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in the scales? |
| 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor? | 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or who gave Him His counsel? |
| 14Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding? | 14Who did He consult with? Who gave Him understanding and taught Him the paths of justice? Who taught Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding? |
| 15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust. | 15Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered as a speck of dust in the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust. |
| 16Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering. | 16Lebanon is not enough for fuel, or its animals enough for a burnt offering. |
| 17All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness. | 17All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are considered by Him as nothingness and emptiness. |
| 18To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him? | 18Who will you compare God with? What likeness will you compare Him to? |
| 19To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains? | 19To an idol?--something that a smelter casts, and a metalworker plates with gold and makes silver welds for it? |
| 20To one bereft of an offering who chooses wood that will not rot, who seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple? | 20To one who shapes a pedestal, choosing wood that does not rot? He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not fall over. |
| 21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth? | 21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not considered the foundations of the earth? |
| 22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. | 22God is enthroned above the circle of the earth; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth and spreads them out like a tent to live in. |
| 23He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless. | 23He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth irrational. |
| 24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble. | 24They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem hardly takes root in the ground when He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble." |
| 25“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One. | 25Who will you compare Me to, or who is My equal?" asks the Holy One. |
| 26Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. | 26Look up and see: who created these? He brings out the starry host by number; He calls all of them by name. Because of His great power and strength, not one of them is missing. |
| 27Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”? | 27Jacob, why do you say, and Israel, why do you assert:" My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God"? |
| 28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. | 28Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. |
| 29He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. | 29He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. |
| 30Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. | 30Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, |
| 31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. | 31but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint." |
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