The chat will start when you send the first message.
1Your God says to you:
“Comfort, comfort my people with gentle, compassionate words .
2Speak tenderly from the heart to revive those in Jerusalem,[#40:2 Or “Speak to the heart [to revive].”; #40:2 Scripture often contains multiple meanings and applications. Jerusalem here can also mean the church. The church does not replace Jerusalem (Israel), but can be viewed as a “new” Israel (see Gal. 6:16). Believers today find themselves in the New Jerusalem, where God and man have become one. See Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22.]
and proclaim that their warfare is over.
Her debt of sin is paid for, and she will not be treated as guilty.
Prophesy to her that she has received from the hand of Yahweh
twice as many blessings as all her sins.”
3A thunderous voice cries out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way for Yahweh ’s arrival!
Make a highway straight through the desert for our God!
4Every valley will be raised up, every mountain brought low.
The rugged terrain will become level ground
and the rough places a plain.
5Then Yahweh ’s radiant glory will be unveiled,
and all humanity will experience it together.
Believe it , for Yahweh has spoken his decree!”
6A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I ask, “What should I say?”
“All people are as frail as grass,
and their elegance is like a wilting wildflower.
7The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of Yahweh blows upon it;
the people are just like grass!
8But even though grass withers and the flower fades,
the word of our God stands strong forever!”
9Go up on a high mountain, you joyful messengers of Zion,
and lift up your voices with power.
You who proclaim joyous news to Jerusalem,
shout it out and don’t be afraid.
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10Look! Here comes Lord Yahweh as a victorious warrior;
he triumphs with his awesome power.
Watch as he brings with him his reward
and the spoils of victory to give to his people .
11He will care for you as a shepherd tends his flock,
gathering the weak lambs and taking them in his arms.
He carries them close to his heart
and gently leads those that have young.
12Who has measured the waters of the sea
in the hollow of his hand
and used his hand-width to mark off the heavens?
Who knows the exact weight of all the dust of the earth
and has weighed all the mountains and hills on his scale?
13Who fully understands the Spirit of Yahweh[#40:13 See Eph. 1:17.]
or is wise enough to counsel him?
14Whom does he consult to be enlightened?
Who teaches him the ways of justice?
Who imparts knowledge to him
or shows him the true path of wisdom?
15Even the nations are to him like a drop in a bucket,[#40:15 The Hebrew word used for “drop” is not a drop of water but a drop of myrrh. Myrrh was harvested by piercing a tree and collecting drops of sap in a bucket. Nations are more than a drop of water but rather are like myrrh dropping into a bucket.]
regarded as nothing more than dust on a scale.
He picks up the islands like fine grains of sand.
16All of Lebanon’s trees are not enough firewood for him ,[#40:16 Lebanon was known for its lumber and forests.]
nor are all its animals enough for a burnt offering.
17The nations are nothing in his eyes;
he regards them as absolutely nothing.
18Who even comes close to being compared to God?[#40:18 This is the Hebrew word ‘el , “the mighty God.”]
How could you ever compare God to an idol?
19A craftsman forms an idol-god,[#40:19 Or “melts [pours out].”]
then a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and forges its silver chains.
20The one who is poor and cannot afford silver or gold[#40:20 The Hebrew clause is uncertain.]
chooses a tree that will not rot,
then seeks a skilled workman
to make an idol that will not topple.
21Don’t you realize that God is the Creator?
Don’t you hear the truth ?
Haven’t you been told this from the beginning?
Haven’t you understood this
since he laid a firm foundation for the earth?
22He sits enthroned high above the circle of the earth;[#40:22 The “circle of the earth” could not only mean that the earth is round but also be a reference to the circular orbit of the earth.]
to him the people of earth are like grasshoppers!
He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
spreading it open like a tent to live in.
23He reduces rulers to nothing
and makes the elite of the earth as nothing at all.
24They barely get planted and barely take root in their position of power
when the Lord blows on them and they wither away,
carried off like straw in the stormy wind.
25The Holy One asks:
“Can you find anyone or anything to compare to me?
Where is the one equal to me?”
26Lift up your eyes to the sky and see for yourself.
Who do you think created the cosmos?
He lit every shining star and formed every glowing galaxy ,
and stationed them all where they belong.
He has numbered, counted, and given each one a name.
They shine because of God’s incredible power
and awesome might; not one fails to appear!
27Why, then, O Jacob’s tribes, would you ever complain?
And my chosen Israel, why would you say,
“Yahweh isn’t paying attention to my situation.
He has lost all interest in what happens to me”?
28Don’t you know? Haven’t you been listening?
Yahweh is the one and only everlasting God,
the Creator of all you can see and imagine!
He never gets weary or worn out.
His intelligence is unlimited;
he is never puzzled over what to do!
29He empowers the feeble
and infuses the powerless with increasing strength.
30Even young people faint and get exhausted;
athletic ones may stumble and fall.
31But those who entwine their hearts with Yahweh[#40:31 Or “wait on .” The Hebrew word for “wait” means to “tie,” “twist,” “bind,” or “entwine [to make a rope].” Waiting on God is never passive; it is binding our hearts to who God is as we wait for God’s plan to unfold.]
will experience divine strength.
They will rise up on soaring wings and fly like eagles,
run their races without growing weary,
and walk through life without giving up.