| Berean Study Bible | New International Version |
| 1“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. | 1Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. |
| 2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.” | 2Speak 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. |
| 3A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. | 3A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. |
| 4Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. | 4Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. |
| 5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” | 5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." |
| 6A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. | 6A 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. |
| 7The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. | 7The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. |
| 8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” | 8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever." |
| 9Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” | 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 a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!" |
| 10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. | 10See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. |
| 11He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes. | 11He 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. |
| 12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance? | 12Who 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? |
| 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor? | 13Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor? |
| 14Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding? | 14Whom 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? |
| 15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust. | 15Surely 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. |
| 16Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering. | 16Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. |
| 17All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness. | 17Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. |
| 18To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him? | 18With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? |
| 19To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains? | 19As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. |
| 20To one bereft of an offering who chooses wood that will not rot, who seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple? | 20A 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. |
| 21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth? | 21Do 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? |
| 22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. | 22He 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. |
| 23He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless. | 23He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. |
| 24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble. | 24No 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. |
| 25“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One. | 25"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. |
| 26Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. | 26Lift 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. |
| 27Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”? | 27Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? |
| 28Do 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; His understanding is beyond searching out. | 28Do 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. |
| 29He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. | 29He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. |
| 30Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. | 30Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; |
| 31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. | 31but 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. |
|
