New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

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

1"Comfort, O 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 kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of 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 is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

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

4"Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

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 flesh will see it together; 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, "Call out." Then he answered, "What shall I call out?" All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

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

7The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.

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

8The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands 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!”

9Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities 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.

10Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before 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 will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

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?

12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?

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

13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed 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 and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding?

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.

15Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

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.

16Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, Nor its beasts 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 regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

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

18To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

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

19As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

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!

20He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that will not totter.

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?

21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not 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.

22It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

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

23He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

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

24Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries 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 liken Me That I would be his equal?" says 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.

26Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them 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?

27Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of 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.

28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.

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

29He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.

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

30Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly,

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.

31Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org