Isaiah 40

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 'Console my people, console them,' says your God.	1 “Be consoled, be consoled, O my people!” says your God.
2 'Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and cry to her that her period of service is ended, that her guilt hasbeen atoned for, that, from the hand of Yahweh, she has received double punishment for all her sins.'	2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out to her! For her malice has reached its end. Her iniquity has been forgiven. She has received double for all her sins from the hand of the Lord.
3 A voice cries, 'Prepare in the desert a way for Yahweh. Make a straight highway for our God across thewastelands.	3 The voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight the paths of our God, in a solitary place.
4 Let every val ey be fil ed in, every mountain and hil be level ed, every cliff become a plateau, everyescarpment a plain;	4 Every valley will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. And the crooked will be straightened, and the uneven will become level ways.
5 then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed and al humanity wil see it together, for the mouth of Yahwehhas spoken.'	5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed. And all flesh together will see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice said, 'Cry aloud!' and I said, 'What shal I cry?' -'All humanity is grass and all its beauty like thewild flower's.	6 The voice of one saying, “Cry out!” And I said, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of Yahweh blows on them. (The grass is surely thepeople.)	7 The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. For the Spirit of the Lord has blown over it. Truly, the people are like grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God remains for ever.'	8 The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. But the Word of our Lord remains for eternity.”
9 Go up on a high mountain, messenger of Zion. Shout as loud as you can, messenger of Jerusalem!Shout fearlessly, say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God.'	9 You who evangelize Zion, climb a high mountain! You who evangelize Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah: “Behold, your God!”
10 Here is Lord Yahweh coming with power, his arm maintains his authority, his reward is with him andhis prize precedes him.	10 Behold, the Lord God will arrive in strength, and his arm will rule. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him.
11 He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breastand leading to their rest the mother ewes.	11 He will pasture his flock like a shepherd. He will gather together the lambs with his arm, and he will lift them up to his bosom, and he himself will carry the very young.
12 Who was it measured the water of the sea in the hol ow of his hand and calculated the heavens to thenearest inch, gauged the dust of the earth to the nearest bushel, weighed the mountains in scales, the hil s in abalance?	12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and who has weighed the heavens with his palm? Who has suspended the mass of the earth with three fingers, and who has weighed the mountains on a balance and the hills on a scale?
13 Who directed the spirit of Yahweh, what counsellor could have instructed him?	13 Who has assisted the Spirit of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor and has revealed things to him?
14 Whom has he consulted to enlighten him, to instruct him in the path of judgement, to teach himknowledge and show him how to understand?	14 With whom has he consulted? And who has instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and guided him to knowledge, and revealed the way of understanding to him?
15 See, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, they count as a grain of dust on the scales. See, coastsand islands weigh no more than fine powder.	15 Behold, the nations are like a drop of water in a bucket, and they are considered as the smallest grain on a balance. Behold, the islands are like a little dust.
16 The Lebanon is not enough for the burning fires nor its animals enough for the burnt offering.	16 And Lebanon will not be sufficient to start a fire, and its animals will not be sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 Al the nations are as nothing before him, for him they count as nothingness and emptiness.	17 All the nations in his sight are as if they did not exist, and they are considered by him as if they were nothingness and emptiness.
18 To whom can you compare God? What image can you contrive of him?	18 Therefore, to whom would you liken God? Or with what image would you replace him?
19 The craftsman casts an idol, a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains for it.	19 Should the workman cast a statue? Or has the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?
20 Someone too poor to afford a sacrifice chooses a piece of wood that will not rot; he then seeks out askil ed craftsman to set up an idol that wil not totter.	20 He has chosen strong wood that will not decay. The skillful artisan seeks a way to set up an idol that cannot be moved.
21 Did you not know, had you not heard? Was it not told you from the beginning? Have you notunderstood how the earth was set on its foundations?	21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been announced to you from the beginning? Have you not understood the foundations of the earth?
22 He who sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, the inhabitants of which are like grasshoppers,stretches out the heavens like a cloth, spreads them out like a tent to live in.	22 He is the One who sits upon the globe of the earth, and its inhabitants are like locusts. He extends the heavens as if they were nothing, and he spreads them out like a tent, in which to dwell.
23 He reduces princes to nothing, the rulers of the world to mere emptiness.	23 He has brought those who examine what is secret to nothingness. He has brought the judges of the earth to emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the soil, than he blowson them and they wither and the storm carries them away like chaff.	24 And certainly, their stalk was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the ground. He has suddenly blown them across them, and they have withered, and a whirlwind will carry them away like chaff.
25 'To whom can you compare me, or who is my equal?' says the Holy One.	25 “And to whom would you compare me or equate me?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift your eyes and look: he who created these things leads out their army in order, summoning each ofthem by name. So mighty is his power, so great his strength, that not one fails to answer.	26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things. He leads forth their army by number, and he calls them all by name. Because of the fullness of his strength and robustness and virtue, not one of them was left behind.
27 How can you say, Jacob, how can you repeat, Israel, 'My way is hidden from Yahweh, my rights areignored by my God'?	27 Why do you say this, O Jacob, and why do you speak this way, O Israel? “My way has been hidden from the Lord, and my judgment escaped notice by my God.”
28 Did you not know? Had you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, he created the remotest partsof the earth. He does not grow tired or weary, his understanding is beyond fathoming.	28 Do you not know, or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, who has created the limits of the earth. He does not diminish, and he does not struggle. Neither is his wisdom searchable.
29 He gives strength to the weary, he strengthens the powerless.	29 It is he who gives strength to the weary, and it is he who increases fortitude and strength in those who are failing.
30 Youths grow tired and weary, the young stumble and fal ,	30 Servants will struggle and fail, and young men will fall into infirmity.
31 but those who hope in Yahweh wil regain their strength, they wil sprout wings like eagles, thoughthey run they will not grow weary, though they walk they wil never tire.	31 But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.