^aComfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.

^bSpeak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that ^cher warfare ▼

▼Or hardship

is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.

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.

^eA voice cries: ▼

▼Or  A voice of one crying

^g“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
^hmake straight in the desert a highway for our God.

A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord ▼

▼Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord

;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God. ▼

▼Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God

^kEvery valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.

Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.

^lAnd the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
^mfor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, ▼

▼Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text  And someone says

“What shall I cry?”
^oAll flesh is grass,
and all its beauty ▼

▼Or  all its constancy

is like the flower of the field.

A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.

^qThe grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”

Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, ^rherald of good news; ▼

▼Or  O herald of good news to Zion

lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news; ▼

▼Or  O herald of good news to Jerusalem

lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”

You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem, ▼

▼Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news

lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”

^vBehold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
^wbehold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.

See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.

^xHe will tend his flock like a shepherd;
^yhe will gather the lambs in his arms;
^zhe will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

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.

^aaWho has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?

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?

^abWho has measured ▼

▼Or  has directed

the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?

Who can fathom the Spirit ▼

▼Or mind

of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?

Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
^aeWho taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?

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?

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted ^afas the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up ^agthe coastlands like fine dust.

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.

Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are ^ahits beasts enough for a burnt offering.

Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.

^aiAll the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.

^ajTo whom then will you liken God,
^akor what likeness compare with him?

With whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?

^alAn idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.

As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.

^amHe who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood ▼

▼Or  He chooses valuable wood

that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.

A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.

^aoDo you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

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?

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are ^aplike grasshoppers;
^aqwho stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

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.

^arwho brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
^asand the tempest carries them off like stubble.

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.

^atTo whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
^auHe who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
^av“My way is hidden from the Lord,
^awand my right is disregarded by my God”?

Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is ^axthe everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
^ayhis understanding is unsearchable.

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.

He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

but ^azthey who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings ^balike eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

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.