1"Comfort, comfort my people," says your God.
2"Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and announce to her that her time of hard service is over, her sin is forgiven. She has received from Yahweh's hand double for all her sins."
3A voice cries out: "Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a straight highway in the desert for our God.
4Every valley will be raised, and every mountain and hill will be lowered. The uneven ground will become level, and the rough places a plain.
5The glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all people together will see it, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it."
6A voice says, "Cry out!" And I asked, "What should I cry out?" "All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
7The grass dries up and the flowers fall, because the breath of Yahweh blows on them. Indeed, the people are like grass.
8The grass dries up, the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."
9You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up; do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!"
10Look, the Lord Yahweh will come with might, and his arm will rule for him. See, his reward is with him, and his payment before him.
11He will care for his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them close to his heart. He will gently lead those who have young ones.
12Who has measured the oceans and lakes in the palm of his hand? Who has marked off the sky with his outstretched hand? Who has measured the dust of the earth in a basket, and weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13Who has guided Yahweh’s Spirit, or told him what to do as his adviser?
14Who did he ask for advice? Who taught him? Who showed him the right way to act, and gave him knowledge, and taught him how to understand?
15Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are like a tiny speck of dust on a scale. Look, he picks up the islands as if they were a very small thing.
16The trees of Lebanon are not enough for burning, and its animals are not enough for a burnt offering.
17All the nations are nothing compared to him. He considers them less than nothing, empty and worthless.
18So, who can you compare God to? What image can you use to represent him?
19A craftsman makes an idol, and a goldsmith covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it.
20Someone too poor for such an offering chooses wood that won't rot. They look for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that won't move.
21Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood since the earth was made?
22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its people look like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23He brings rulers to nothing; he makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
24They are barely planted, barely sown; their roots have barely taken hold in the ground. He just blows on them, and they wither, and a whirlwind carries them away like straw.
25“So, who will you compare me to? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26Look up to the heavens and see who created all these stars. He brings out the starry host by number and calls each one by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
27Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel, “My path is hidden from Yahweh, and my God ignores my rights?”
28Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The eternal God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not get tired or weary. No one can understand his wisdom.
29He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of those who have no might.
30Even young men get tired and weary, and strong young men stumble and fall.
31But those who wait for Yahweh will get new strength. They will fly up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not faint.