Read Amplified Bible, 2015 Isaiah 40 Bible Online

Isaiah 40 - Amplified Bible, 2015 bible

Isaiah 40

¹"Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God.

²"Speak[1] tenderly to Jerusalem, And call out to her, that her time of compulsory service in warfare is finished, That her wickedness has been taken away [since her punishment is sufficient], That she has received from the Lord's hand Double [punishment] for all her sins."

³A voice of one is calling out, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness [remove the obstacles]; Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

⁴"Every valley shall be raised, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged places a broad valley.

⁵"And the glory and majesty and splendor of the LORD will be revealed, And all humanity shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken it."

⁶A voice says, "Call out [prophesy]." Then he answered, "What shall I call out?" [The voice answered:] All humanity is [as frail as] grass, and all that makes it attractive [its charm, its loveliness] is [momentary] like the flower of the field.

⁷The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Most certainly [all] the people are [like] grass.

⁸The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

⁹O Zion, herald of good news, Get up on a high mountain. O Jerusalem, herald of good news, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, do not fear; Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!"

¹⁰Listen carefully, the Lord GOD will come with might, And His arm will rule for Him. Most certainly His reward is with Him, And His restitution accompanies Him.

¹¹He will protect His flock like a shepherd, He will gather the lambs in His arm, He will carry them in His bosom; He will gently and carefully lead those nursing their young.

¹²Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens with a span [of the hand], And calculated the dust of the earth with a[2] measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?

¹³Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or has taught Him as His counselor?

¹⁴With whom did He consult and who enlightened Him? Who taught Him the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding?

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

¹⁶And [the forests of] Lebanon cannot supply sufficient fuel to start a fire, Nor are its wild beasts enough for a burnt offering [worthy of the LORD].

¹⁷All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

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

¹⁹As for the cast image (idol), a metalworker casts it, A goldsmith overlays it with gold And a silversmith casts its silver chains.

²⁰He who is too impoverished for such an offering [to give to his god] Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To [carve and] set up an idol that will not totter.

²¹Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]?

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

²³It is He who reduces dignitaries to nothing, Who makes the judges (rulers) of the earth meaningless (useless).

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 a strong wind carries them away like stubble.

²⁵"To whom then will you compare Me That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One.

²⁶Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these heavenly bodies, The One who brings out 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 is missing.

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

²⁸Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become tired or grow weary; There is no searching of His understanding.

²⁹He gives strength to the weary, And to him who has no might He increases power.

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

³¹But those who wait for the LORD [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] Will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; They will run and not become weary, They will walk and not grow tired.