Isaiah 40:1-31
God's promises to his people
Yes, comfort them.
Tell them that their time of trouble has now finished.
Their
The Lord has made them pay for their
He has made them pay twice.’
‘Prepare a way in the
Make a straight road in the
and bring down every mountain and hill.
The rough ground and the ground that has rocks
will become flat.
All people will see it at the same time.
The Lord himself has promised this.’
But I say, ‘What should I shout?’
‘Shout that all people are like grass.
Their promises are like the flowers in a field.
and flowers fall to the ground.
The Lord causes this to happen,
when he sends a wind to blow on them.
It is true. People are like grass.
and flowers fall to the ground.
But God's promise will be true for ever.’
So go up onto a high mountain.
Yes, Jerusalem, shout the good news!
Shout aloud, and do not be afraid.
Say to the towns in Judah, ‘Here is your God!’
He will use his great strength to rule the people.
Look again! He is bringing his gifts with him.
He brings the
like a
He picks up the young
and he carries them near to his heart.
He carefully leads the mother sheep that have lambs.
He measured all the water of the seas in one hand.
He used his hand to measure the whole sky.
He carefully weighed the
He carefully weighed the mountains in his
and the hills too.
Nobody can be his
to tell him what he should do.
Nobody can teach him the proper way to do things.
Nobody can give him
Nobody can teach him how to understand things.
as if they are a little bit of water in a bucket.
They are like
He weighs the islands as he would weigh dust.
to make a fire for his
All its animals are not enough to offer to him
as
He sees them as empty and
There is no
Another worker may cover it with gold.
He may use
He chooses wood that will not quickly become
Then he finds a worker to make an idol for him.
He makes it so that it will not fall over!
You must have heard about it.
Somebody must have told you these things
from the beginning.
You should have understood it all
since the time that God made the earth.
where the earth and the sky meet.
The people on the earth seem like
He hangs out the sky like a curtain.
He makes it like a
He causes the rulers of the world to be
Somebody plants them in the ground.
But while their
God blows on them and they become dry.
Then the wind carries them away like
‘You cannot find anyone who is like me.
Nobody is the same as me.’
Think about the one who made all the stars.
God is the one who brought together that great army!
He knows how many they are
and he knows each of their names!
When he calls them, each one is there,
because he is so strong and powerful.
‘The Lord does not know about our troubles.
He does not bring
Why do you say that?
You must have heard about it.
The Lord is the God who lives for ever.
He made the whole earth, near and far.
He never becomes tired or weak.
He knows and he understands everything.
When people have become weak,
he gives them more
Even strong young men may
will receive new
They will rise up high,
as if they have the
They will run and they will not become tired.
They will walk and they will not become weak.