| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. | 1Comfort, comfort My people," says 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 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." |
| 3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. | 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 exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places 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 shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. | 5And the glory of the LORD will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. |
| 6The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower 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 withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. | 7The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. |
| 8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. | 8The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever." |
| 9O 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! | 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 will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before 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 shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. | 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 hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in 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 hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counseller hath taught him? | 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or who gave Him His counsel? |
| 14With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to 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? |
| 15Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. | 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. |
| 16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. | 16Lebanon is not enough for fuel, or its animals enough for a burnt offering. |
| 17All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. | 17All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are considered by Him as nothingness and emptiness. |
| 18To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? | 18Who will you compare God with? What likeness will you compare Him to? |
| 19The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. | 19To an idol?--something that a smelter casts, and a metalworker plates with gold and makes silver welds for it? |
| 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, that shall not be moved. | 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. |
| 21Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations 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? |
| 22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as 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. |
| 23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. | 23He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth irrational. |
| 24Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as 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." |
| 25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. | 25Who will you compare Me to, or who is My equal?" asks the Holy One. |
| 26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. | 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 sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from 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"? |
| 28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. | 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 giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. | 29He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. |
| 30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: | 30Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, |
| 31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall 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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