| King James Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. | 1"Comfort, 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. | 2"Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the LORD has made her pay 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 cries out, "In the wilderness clear a way for the LORD; construct in the desert a road for our God. |
| 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 must be elevated, and every mountain and hill leveled. The rough terrain will become a level plain, the rugged landscape a wide valley. |
| 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. | 5The splendor of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it at the same time. For the LORD has decreed it." |
| 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 says, "Cry out!" Another asks, "What should I cry out?" The first voice responds: "All people are like grass, and all their promises are like the flowers in the field. |
| 7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. | 7The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the LORD blows on them. Surely humanity is like grass. |
| 8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. | 8The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable." |
| 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! | 9Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion! Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! Shout, don't be afraid! Say to the towns 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. | 10Look, the sovereign LORD comes as a victorious warrior; his military power establishes his rule. Look, his reward is with him; his prize goes before 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. | 11Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; he leads the ewes along. |
| 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 out the waters in the hollow of his hand, or carefully measured the sky, or carefully weighed the soil of the earth, or weighed the mountains in a balance, or the hills on scales? |
| 13Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counseller hath taught him? | 13Who comprehends the mind of the LORD, or gives him instruction as his counselor? |
| 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? | 14From whom does he receive directions? Who teaches him the correct way to do things, or imparts knowledge to him, or instructs him in skillful design? |
| 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 regarded as dust on the scales. He lifts the coastlands as if they were dust. |
| 16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. | 16Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice; its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings. |
| 17All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. | 17All the nations are insignificant before him; they are regarded as absolutely nothing. |
| 18To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? | 18To whom can you compare God? To what image can you liken him? |
| 19The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. | 19A craftsman casts an idol; a metalsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains 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 make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make 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? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you since the very beginning? Have you not understood from the time the earth's foundations were made? |
| 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: | 22He is the one who sits on the earth's horizon; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain, and spreads it out like a pitched tent. |
| 23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. | 23He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing; he makes the earth's leaders insignificant. |
| 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. | 24Indeed, they are barely planted; yes, they are barely sown; yes, they barely take root in the earth, and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up, and the wind carries them away like straw. |
| 25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. | 25"To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?" says 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 at the sky! Who created all these heavenly lights? He is the one who leads out their ranks; he calls them all by name. Because of his absolute power and awesome 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? | 27Why do you say, Jacob, Why do you say, Israel, "The LORD is not aware of what is happening to me, My God is not concerned with my vindication"? |
| 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? The LORD is an eternal God, the creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his wisdom. |
| 29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. | 29He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy. |
| 30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: | 30Even youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble. |
| 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 wait for the LORD's help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles' wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired. |
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