Isaiah 40 HCSB NLT Parallel

◄ Isaiah 40 ►

HCSB Parallel NLT [BSB CSB ESV HCS KJV ISV NAS NET NIV NLT HEB]

Holman Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

1Comfort, comfort My people," says your God."

1“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.

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."

2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.”

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.

3Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!

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.

4Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.

5And the glory of the LORD will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

5Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!”

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.

6A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field.

7The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.

7The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people.

8The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever."

8The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”

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!"

9O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!”

10See, the Lord GOD comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him.

10Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.

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.

11He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. The LORD Has No Equal

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?

12Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?

13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or who gave Him His counsel?

13Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?

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?

14Has the LORD ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?

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.

15No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.

16Lebanon is not enough for fuel, or its animals enough for a burnt offering.

16All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.

17All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are considered by Him as nothingness and emptiness.

17The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing— mere emptiness and froth.

18Who will you compare God with? What likeness will you compare Him to?

18To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?

19To an idol?--something that a smelter casts, and a metalworker plates with gold and makes silver welds for it?

19Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?

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.

20Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!

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?

21Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God— the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant?

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.

22God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.

23He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth irrational.

23He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.

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."

24They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff.

25Who will you compare Me to, or who is My equal?" asks the Holy One.

25“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

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.

26Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.

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"?

27O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

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.

28Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

29He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless.

29He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.

30Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall,

30Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.

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."

31But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

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