English Standard Version

Berean Study Bible

1Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

1“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.

2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

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.”

3A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

3A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.

4Every 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.

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.

5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

6A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

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.

7The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.

7The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.

8The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

9Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

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!”

10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.

11He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

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.

12Who 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?

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?

13Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?

13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor?

14Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

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?

15Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.

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.

16Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

16Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.

17All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

17All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.

18To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?

18To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?

19An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.

19To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

20He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.

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?

21Do 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?

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?

22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

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.

23who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

23He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.

24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

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.

25To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

25“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

26Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He 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.

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.

27Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”?

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”?

28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

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.

29He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

29He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.

30Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;

30Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.

31but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

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.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

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