Comfort for God’s People
- 2 “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her,that her compulsory labor is fulfilled, that her sin is paid for,
- that she has[fn] from the hand of Yahweh double for all her sins.”
- 3 is calling in the wilderness, “Clear the way of Yahweh! Make a highway smooth in the desert for our God!
- 4 and every mountain and hill shall become low,
- And the rough ground shall be like a plain,
- and the rugged ground like a valley-plain.
- 5 and all[fn] together shall see it,
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
- 6 is saying, “Call!” And he said, “What shall I call?”
- All[fn] are grass,
- and all his loyalty is like the flowers of the field.
- 7 the flower withers when the breath of Yahweh blows on it.
- Surely the people are grass.
- 8 the flower withers, but[fn] the word of our God will stand forever.
- 9 [fn] up to a high mountain, Zion, bringer of good news! Lift up your voice with strength, Jerusalem, bringer of good news!
- Lift it up; you must not fear!
- Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
- 10 [fn] and his arm rules for him.
- Look! His reward is with him,
- and his recompense[fn]
- 11 he will gather the lambs in his arm,
- and he will carry them in his bosom;
- he will lead those who nurse.
- 12 the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span,
- comprehended the dust of the earth in a third of a measure
- and weighed out the mountains in the scales,[fn] andthe hills in a balance?
- 13 or informed him as[fn]?
- 14 [fn] he enlightened him[fn] and taught him the path of justice,
- and taught him knowledge,
- and made the way of understanding known to him?
- 15 The nations are like a drop from a bucket, and they are counted like dust of the balances!
- Look! He weighs the islands like a thin covering.
- 16 is not enough to light a fire, and its animals[fn] not enough for a burnt offering.
- 17 are like nothing before him; they are counted by him as[fn] nothing and emptiness.
- 18 And to what likeness will you compare him?
- 19 and a[fn] overlays it with gold,
- and he smelts chains of silver.
- 20 too impoverished for a gift chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks a skillful artisan for himself to set up an image that will not be knocked over.
- 21 Have you not heard?
- Has it not been told to you from the[fn]
- Have you not understood from the foundation of the earth?
- 22 He is the one who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
- the one who stretches out the heavens like a veil
- and spreads them out like a tent to live in,
- 23 [fn] princes to nothing; he makes rulers of the earth like nothing.
- 24 are they sown; indeed, hardly has their shoot taken root in the earth
- when[fn] he blows on them and they wither,
- and the tempest carries them like stubble.
25 “And to whom you will compare me, and am I equal?” says the holy one.
- 26 on high, and see! Who created these? The one who brings out their host by number.
- He calls all them by name.
- Because he is great of power
- and mighty of power, no man is missing.
- 27 [fn] do you say, Jacob, and you speak, Israel,
- “My way is hidden from Yahweh,
- and my judgment is passed over by my God?”
- 28 or have you not heard?
- Yahweh is the God of eternity,
- the creator of the ends of the earth!
- He is not faint, and he does not grow weary!
- There is no searching his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weary,and he increases power for the powerless.[fn]
30 Even[fn] young people will be faint and grow weary,and the young will stumble, exhausted.
31 But[fn] those who wait for Yahweh shall renewtheir strength.They shall go up with wings[fn] like eagles;
they shall run and not grow weary;
they shall walk and not be faint.