40:1 "Comfort, comfort my people,"
says your God.
that her time of warfare is over,
that her punishment is completed.
For the
"In the wilderness clear a way for the
construct in the desert a road for our God.
and every mountain and hill leveled.
The rough terrain will become a level plain,
the rugged landscape a wide valley.
and all people will see it at the same time.
For the
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.
the flowers wither,
when the wind sent by the
Surely humanity is like grass.
the flowers wither,
but the decree of our God is forever reliable."
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem!
Shout, don't be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!"
his military power establishes his rule.
Look, his reward is with him;
his prize goes before him.
he gathers up the lambs with his arm;
he carries them close to his heart;
he leads the ewes along.
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?
or gives him instruction as his counselor?
Who teaches him the correct way to do things,
or imparts knowledge to him,
or instructs him in skillful design?
they are regarded as dust on the scales.
He lifts the coastlands as if they were dust.
its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.
they are regarded as absolutely nothing.
To what image can you liken him?
a metalsmith overlays it with gold
and forges silver chains for it.
he then seeks a skilled craftsman
to make an idol that will not fall over.
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?
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.
he makes the earth's leaders insignificant.
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.
says the Holy One.
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.
Why do you say, Israel,
"The
My God is not concerned with my vindication"?
Have you not heard?
The
the creator of the whole earth.
He does not get tired or weary;
there is no limit to his wisdom.
to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.
even strong young men clumsily stumble.
they rise up as if they had eagles' wings,
they run without growing weary,
they walk without getting tired.
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® copyright © 1996, 2019, used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.