Two Weeks on the Old Testament
Reading #12: Isaiah 40- Words of comfort from God
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard
service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that
she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for
the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made
low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a
plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind
together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
6 A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall
I cry?" "All men are like grass, and all their glory is
like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of
the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God
stands forever."
9 You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with
a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!"
10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules
for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense
accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in
his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads
those that have young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with
the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the
dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the
scales and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as
his counselor?
14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him
the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him
the path of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are
regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though
they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals
enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded
by him as worthless and less than nothing.
18 To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you
compare him to?
19 As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays
it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that
will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol
that will not topple.
21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you
from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was
founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its
people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a
canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this
world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner
do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they
wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25 "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?"
says the Holy One.
26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each
by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one
of them is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way
is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"?
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the
everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will
not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the
weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and
fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They
will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.