Isaiah 40 NLT ISV Parallel

◄ Isaiah 40 ►

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

1"Comfort! Yes, comfort my people," says your God.

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.”

2"Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her heavy service has been completed, that her penalty has been paid, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins."

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!

3A voice cries out: 'In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; and in the desert a straight highway for our God.'

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

4Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be lowered; the rough ground will become level, and the mountain ridges made a plain.

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

5Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity will see it at once; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

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.

6A voice says, "Cry out!" So I asked, "What am I to cry out?" "All humanity is grass, and all its loyalty is like the flowers of the field.

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

7Grass withers and flowers fade away when the LORD's breath blows on them; surely the people are like grass.

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

8Grass withers and flowers fade away, when the LORD's breath blows on them, but the word of our God will stand forever. "

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!”

9"Climb up a high mountain, you messenger of good news to Zion! Lift up your voice with strength, you messenger to Jerusalem! Lift it up! Don't be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God!'

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.

10Look! The Lord GOD comes with strength, and his arm rules for him. Look! His reward is with him, and his payment accompanies him.

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

11Like a shepherd, he tends his flock. He gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them close to his heart, and gently leads the mother sheep."

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?

12"Who has measured the waters of the sea in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens by the width of his hand? Who has enclosed the dust of the earth in a measuring bowl, or weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

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

13Who has fathomed the Spirit of the LORD, or as his counselor has taught him?

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?

14With whom did he consult to enlighten and instruct him on the path of justice? Or who taught him knowledge and showed him the way of wisdom?

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.

15"Look! The nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are reckoned as dust on the scales. Look! He even lifts up the islands like powder!

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.

16Lebanon would not provide enough fuel, nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering.

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

17All the nations are as nothing before him— they are reckoned by him as nothing and chaos.

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

18"To whom, then, will you compare me, the One who is God? Or to what image will you liken me?

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

19To an idol? A craftsman makes the image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains.

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!

20To the impoverished person? He prepares an offering— wood that won't rot— Or to the one who chooses a skilled craftsman and seeks to erect an idol that won't topple?"

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?

21"You know, don't you? You have heard, haven't you? Hasn't it been told you from the beginning? Haven't you understood from the foundations of the earth?

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.

22He's the one who sits above the disk of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He's the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in,

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

23who brings princes to nothing, and makes void the rulers of the earth.

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

24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the earth, than he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest sweeps them away like stubble.

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

25"To whom, then, will you compare me, and to whom should I be equal?" asks the Holy One.

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.

26"Lift your eyes up to heaven and see who created all these— the one who leads out their vast array of stars by number, calling them all by name— because of his great might and his powerful strength — and not one is missing."

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

27"Jacob, why do you say— and Israel, why do you complain— 'My predicament is hidden from the LORD, and my cause is ignored by my God.'?

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.

28Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary; and his understanding cannot be fathomed.

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

29He's the one who gives might to the faint, renewing strength for the powerless.

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

30Even boys grow tired and weary, and young men collapse and fall,

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.

31but those who keep waiting for the LORD will renew their strength. Then they'll soar on wings like eagles; they'll run and not grow weary; they'll walk and not grow tired."

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