Isaiah 40 NKJV NLT Parallel

◄ Isaiah 40 ►

NKJV Parallel NLT [BSB CSB ESV HCS KJV ISV NAS NET NIV NLT HEB]

New King James Version

New Living Translation

1“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God.

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

2“Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’s hand Double for all her sins.”

2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.”

3The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.

3Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!

4Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;

4Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.

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

5Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!”

6The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

6A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field.

7The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.

7The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people.

8The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

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

9O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

9O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!”

10Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.

10Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.

11He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.

11He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. The LORD Has No Equal

12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance?

12Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?

13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him?

13Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?

14With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding?

14Has the LORD ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?

15Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.

15No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.

16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.

16All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.

17All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

17The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing— mere emptiness and froth.

18To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?

18To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?

19The workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains.

19Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?

20Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To prepare a carved image that will not totter.

20Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!

21Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

21Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God— the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant?

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 out like a tent to dwell in.

22God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.

23He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.

23He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.

24Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

24They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff.

25“To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.

25“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

26Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.

26Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.

27Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God”?

27O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

28Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

29He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.

29He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.

30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,

30Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.

31But those who wait on 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 trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

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