Comfort ye, comfort
ye my people
, saith
your God
.
Speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem
, and cry
unto her, that her warfare
is accomplished
, that her iniquity
is pardoned
: for she hath received
of the LORD'S
hand
double
for all her sins
.
The voice of him that crieth
in the wilderness
, Prepare
ye the way
of the LORD
, make straight
in the desert
a highway
for our God
.
Every valley shall be exalted
, and every mountain
and hill
shall be made low
: and the crooked
shall be made straight
, and the rough places
plain
:
And the glory of the LORD
shall be revealed
, and all flesh
shall see
it together
: for the mouth
of the LORD
hath spoken
it .
The voice said
, Cry
. And he said
, What shall I cry
? All flesh
is grass
, and all the goodliness
thereof is as the flower
of the field
:
The grass withereth
, the flower
fadeth
: because the spirit
of the LORD
bloweth
upon it: surely
the people
is grass
.
The grass withereth
, the flower
fadeth
: but the word
of our God
shall stand
for ever
.
O Zion, that bringest good tidings
, get thee up
into the high
mountain
; O Jerusalem
, that bringest good tidings
, lift up
thy voice
with strength
; lift it up
, be not afraid
; say
unto the cities
of Judah
, Behold your God
!
Behold, the Lord GOD
will come
with strong
hand , and his arm
shall rule
for him: behold, his reward
is with him, and his work
before
him.
He shall feed his flock
like a shepherd
: he shall gather
the lambs
with his arm
, and carry
them in his bosom
, and shall gently lead
those that are with young
.
Who hath measured the waters
in the hollow of his hand
, and meted out
heaven
with the span
, and comprehended
the dust
of the earth
in a measure
, and weighed
the mountains
in scales
, and the hills
in a balance
?
Who hath directed the Spirit
of the LORD
, or being his counsellor
hath taught
him?
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed
him, and taught
him in the path
of judgment
, and taught
him knowledge
, and shewed
to him the way
of understanding
?
Behold, the nations are as a drop
of a bucket
, and are counted
as the small dust
of the balance
: behold, he taketh up
the isles
as a very little thing
.
And Lebanon is not
sufficient
to burn
, nor the beasts
thereof sufficient
for a burnt offering
.
All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted
to him less than nothing
, and vanity
.
To whom then will ye liken God
? or what likeness
will ye compare
unto him?
The workman melteth
a graven image
, and the goldsmith
spreadeth
it over with gold
, and casteth
silver
chains
.
He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation
chooseth
a tree
that will not rot
; he seeketh
unto him a cunning
workman
to prepare
a graven image
, that shall not be moved
.
Have ye not known? have ye not heard
? hath it not been told
you from the beginning
? have ye not understood
from the foundations
of the earth
?
It is he that sitteth upon the circle
of the earth
, and the inhabitants
thereof are as grasshoppers
; that stretcheth out
the heavens
as a curtain
, and spreadeth them out
as a tent
to dwell in
:
That bringeth the princes
to nothing; he maketh
the judges
of the earth
as vanity
.
Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown
: yea, their stock
shall not take root
in the earth
: and he shall also blow
upon them, and they shall wither
, and the whirlwind
shall take
them away as stubble
.
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal
? saith
the Holy One
.
Lift up your eyes
on high
, and behold
who hath created
these things , that bringeth out
their host
by number
: he calleth
them all by names
by the greatness
of his might
, for that he is strong
in power
; not one
faileth
.
Why sayest thou, O Jacob
, and speakest
, O Israel
, My way
is hid
from the LORD
, and my judgment
is passed over
from my God
?
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard
, that the everlasting
God
, the LORD
, the Creator
of the ends
of the earth
, fainteth
not, neither is weary
? there is no searching
of his understanding
.
He giveth power
to the faint
; and to them that have no might
he increaseth
strength
.
Even the youths shall faint
and be weary
, and the young men
shall utterly
fall
:
But they that wait upon the LORD
shall renew
their strength
; they shall mount up
with wings
as eagles
; they shall run
, and not be weary
; and they shall walk
, and not faint
.