Isaiah 40 - New International Version (NIV)

Comfort for God’s People

40 Comfort, comfort(A) my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly(B) to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service(C) has been completed,(D)
that her sin has been paid for,(E)
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double(F) for all her sins.

3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way(G) for the Lord[a];
make straight(H) in the desert
a highway for our God.[b](I)
4 Every valley shall be raised up,(J)
every mountain and hill(K) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,(L)
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory(M) of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.(N)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”(O)

6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,(P)
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers(Q) and the flowers fall,
because the breath(R) of the Lord blows(S) on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers(T) fall,
but the word(U) of our God endures(V) forever.(W)”

9 You who bring good news(X) to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c](Y)
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”(Z)
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes(AA) with power,(AB)
and he rules(AC) with a mighty arm.(AD)
See, his reward(AE) is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:(AF)
He gathers the lambs in his arms(AG)
and carries them close to his heart;(AH)
he gently leads(AI) those that have young.(AJ)

12 Who has measured the waters(AK) in the hollow of his hand,(AL)
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?(AM)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?(AN)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d](AO) of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?(AP)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,(AQ)
or showed him the path of understanding?(AR)

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;(AS)
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(AT)
16 Lebanon(AU) is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals(AV) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(AW) are as nothing;(AX)
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.(AY)

18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(AZ)
To what image(BA) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(BB) a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith(BC) overlays it with gold(BD)
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood(BE) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol(BF) that will not topple.(BG)

21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(BH)
Has it not been told(BI) you from the beginning?(BJ)
Have you not understood(BK) since the earth was founded?(BL)
22 He sits enthroned(BM) above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.(BN)
He stretches out the heavens(BO) like a canopy,(BP)
and spreads them out like a tent(BQ) to live in.(BR)
23 He brings princes(BS) to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(BT)
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root(BU) in the ground,
than he blows(BV) on them and they wither,(BW)
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(BX)

25 “To whom will you compare me?(BY)
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(BZ)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(CA)
Who created(CB) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(CC) one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(CD)
not one of them is missing.(CE)

27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?(CF)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(CG)
The Lord is the everlasting(CH) God,
the Creator(CI) of the ends of the earth.(CJ)
He will not grow tired or weary,(CK)
and his understanding no one can fathom.(CL)
29 He gives strength(CM) to the weary(CN)
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men(CO) stumble and fall;(CP)
31 but those who hope(CQ) in the Lord
will renew their strength.(CR)
They will soar on wings like eagles;(CS)
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.(CT)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord
  2. Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God
  3. Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news
  4. Isaiah 40:13 Or mind

Cross references

  1. Isaiah 40:1 : Isa 12:1; 49:13; 51:3, 12; 52:9; 57:18; 61:2; 66:13; Jer 31:13; Zep 3:14-17; Zec 1:17; 2Co 1:3
  2. Isaiah 40:2 : S Ge 34:3; S Isa 35:4
  3. Isaiah 40:2 : S Job 7:1
  4. Isaiah 40:2 : Isa 41:11-13; 49:25
  5. Isaiah 40:2 : S Lev 26:41
  6. Isaiah 40:2 : Isa 51:19; 61:7; Jer 16:18; 17:18; Zec 9:12; Rev 18:6
  7. Isaiah 40:3 : S Isa 11:16; 43:19; Mal 3:1
  8. Isaiah 40:3 : S Pr 3:5-6
  9. Isaiah 40:3 : Mt 3:3*; Mk 1:3*; Jn 1:23*
  10. Isaiah 40:4 : Isa 49:11
  11. Isaiah 40:4 : S Isa 2:14
  12. Isaiah 40:4 : S Ps 26:12; S Isa 26:7; 45:2, 13; Jer 31:9
  13. Isaiah 40:5 : S Ex 16:7; S Nu 14:21; S Isa 59:19
  14. Isaiah 40:5 : Isa 52:10; 62:2; Lk 2:30; 3:4-6*
  15. Isaiah 40:5 : S Isa 1:20; 58:14
  16. Isaiah 40:6 : S Ge 6:3; S Isa 29:5
  17. Isaiah 40:7 : S Job 8:12; S Isa 15:6
  18. Isaiah 40:7 : S Ex 15:10; S Job 41:21
  19. Isaiah 40:7 : S Ps 103:16; S Eze 22:21
  20. Isaiah 40:8 : S Isa 5:24; Jas 1:10
  21. Isaiah 40:8 : Isa 55:11; 59:21
  22. Isaiah 40:8 : S Pr 19:21; S Isa 7:7, 9; S Jer 39:16
  23. Isaiah 40:8 : S Ps 119:89; S Mt 5:18; 1Pe 1:24-25*
  24. Isaiah 40:9 : Isa 41:27; 44:28; 52:7-10; 61:1; Na 1:15; S Ac 13:32; Ro 10:15; 1Co 15:1-4
  25. Isaiah 40:9 : S Isa 1:1
  26. Isaiah 40:9 : Isa 25:9
  27. Isaiah 40:10 : Isa 35:4; 59:20; Mt 21:5; Rev 22:7
  28. Isaiah 40:10 : Isa 28:2
  29. Isaiah 40:10 : Isa 9:6-7
  30. Isaiah 40:10 : S Ps 44:3; S Isa 30:30; S 33:2
  31. Isaiah 40:10 : S Isa 35:4; Rev 22:12
  32. Isaiah 40:11 : S Ge 48:15; S Ps 28:9; S Mic 5:4; S Jn 10:11
  33. Isaiah 40:11 : S Nu 11:12
  34. Isaiah 40:11 : S Dt 26:19
  35. Isaiah 40:11 : Isa 49:10
  36. Isaiah 40:11 : S Ge 33:13; S Dt 30:4
  37. Isaiah 40:12 : S Job 12:15; S 38:10
  38. Isaiah 40:12 : Pr 30:4
  39. Isaiah 40:12 : S Job 38:5; Heb 1:10-12
  40. Isaiah 40:12 : S Job 38:18; Pr 16:11
  41. Isaiah 40:13 : Isa 11:2; 42:1
  42. Isaiah 40:13 : S Job 15:8; Ro 11:34*; 1Co 2:16*
  43. Isaiah 40:14 : Job 21:22; Col 2:3
  44. Isaiah 40:14 : S Job 12:13; S 34:13; Isa 55:9
  45. Isaiah 40:15 : S Ps 62:9
  46. Isaiah 40:15 : S Dt 9:21; Isa 2:22
  47. Isaiah 40:16 : Isa 33:9; 37:24
  48. Isaiah 40:16 : Ps 50:9-11; Mic 6:7; Heb 10:5-9
  49. Isaiah 40:17 : Isa 30:28
  50. Isaiah 40:17 : S Job 12:19; Isa 29:7
  51. Isaiah 40:17 : S Isa 37:19; Da 4:35
  52. Isaiah 40:18 : S Ex 8:10; S 1Sa 2:2
  53. Isaiah 40:18 : S Dt 4:15; Ac 17:29
  54. Isaiah 40:19 : S Ex 20:4; Ps 115:4; S Isa 37:19; 42:17; Jer 2:8, 28; 10:8; 16:19; Hab 2:18; Zec 10:2
  55. Isaiah 40:19 : Isa 41:7; 46:6; Jer 10:3
  56. Isaiah 40:19 : Isa 2:20; 31:7
  57. Isaiah 40:20 : Isa 44:19
  58. Isaiah 40:20 : S 1Sa 12:21
  59. Isaiah 40:20 : S 1Sa 5:3
  60. Isaiah 40:21 : ver 28; 2Ki 19:25; Isa 41:22; 42:9; 44:8; 48:3, 5
  61. Isaiah 40:21 : Ps 19:1; 50:6; Ac 14:17
  62. Isaiah 40:21 : S Ge 1:1
  63. Isaiah 40:21 : Ro 1:19
  64. Isaiah 40:21 : Isa 48:13; 51:13
  65. Isaiah 40:22 : S 2Ch 6:18; S Ps 2:4
  66. Isaiah 40:22 : S Nu 13:33
  67. Isaiah 40:22 : S Ge 1:1; S Isa 48:13
  68. Isaiah 40:22 : S Ge 1:8; S Job 22:14
  69. Isaiah 40:22 : S Job 36:29
  70. Isaiah 40:22 : S Job 26:7
  71. Isaiah 40:23 : S Job 12:18; S Isa 34:12
  72. Isaiah 40:23 : S Job 12:19; Am 2:3
  73. Isaiah 40:24 : S Job 5:3
  74. Isaiah 40:24 : S 2Sa 22:16; S Isa 11:4; 41:16
  75. Isaiah 40:24 : S Job 8:12; S 18:16
  76. Isaiah 40:24 : S Job 24:24; S Isa 41:2
  77. Isaiah 40:25 : S 1Sa 2:2; S 1Ch 16:25
  78. Isaiah 40:25 : Isa 1:4; 37:23
  79. Isaiah 40:26 : Isa 51:6
  80. Isaiah 40:26 : ver 28; Ps 89:11-13; Isa 42:5; 66:2
  81. Isaiah 40:26 : S 2Ki 17:16; S Ne 9:6; S Job 38:32
  82. Isaiah 40:26 : S Job 9:4; S Isa 45:24; Eph 1:19
  83. Isaiah 40:26 : S Isa 34:16
  84. Isaiah 40:27 : S Job 6:29; S 27:2; Lk 18:7-8
  85. Isaiah 40:28 : S ver 21
  86. Isaiah 40:28 : S Dt 33:27; S Ps 90:2
  87. Isaiah 40:28 : S ver 26
  88. Isaiah 40:28 : S Isa 37:16
  89. Isaiah 40:28 : Isa 44:12
  90. Isaiah 40:28 : S Ps 147:5; Ro 11:33
  91. Isaiah 40:29 : S Ge 18:14; S Ps 68:35; S 119:28
  92. Isaiah 40:29 : Isa 50:4; 57:19; Jer 31:25
  93. Isaiah 40:30 : Isa 9:17; Jer 6:11; 9:21
  94. Isaiah 40:30 : S Ps 20:8; Isa 5:27
  95. Isaiah 40:31 : S Ps 37:9; 40:1; S Isa 30:18; Lk 18:1
  96. Isaiah 40:31 : S 1Sa 2:4; S 2Ki 6:33; S 2Co 4:16
  97. Isaiah 40:31 : S Ex 19:4
  98. Isaiah 40:31 : 2Co 4:1; Heb 12:1-3

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