Isaiah 40; Isaiah 41; Isaiah 42; Isaiah 43

1 "Comfort my people! Comfort them!" says your God.

2 "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and announce to it that its time of hard labor is over and its wrongs have been paid for. It has received from the LORD double for all its sins."

3 A voice cries out in the desert: "Clear a way for the LORD. Make a straight highway in the wilderness for our God.

4 Every valley will be raised. Every mountain and hill will be lowered. Steep places will be made level. Rough places will be made smooth.

5 Then the LORD's glory will be revealed and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken."

6 A voice called, "Call out!" I asked, "What should I call out?" "Call out: All people are like grass, and all their beauty is like a flower in the field.

7 Grass dries up, and flowers wither when the LORD's breath blows on them. Yes, people are like grass.

8 Grass dries up, and flowers wither, but the word of our God will last forever."

9 Go up a high mountain, Zion. Tell the good news! Call out with a loud voice, Jerusalem. Tell the good news! Raise your voice without fear. Tell the cities of Judah: "Here is your God!"

10 The Almighty LORD is coming with power to rule with authority. His reward is with him, and the people he has won arrive ahead of him.

11 Like a shepherd he takes care of his flock. He gathers the lambs in his arms. He carries them in his arms. He gently helps the sheep and their lambs.

12 Who has measured the water of the sea with the palm of his hand or measured the sky with the length of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a bushel basket or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills on a balance?

13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD or instructed him as his adviser?

14 Whom did he consult? Who gave him understanding? Who taught him the right way? Who taught him knowledge? Who informed him about the way to understanding?

15 The nations are like a drop in a bucket and are considered to be like dust on a scale. The weight of the islands is like fine dust.

16 All the trees in Lebanon are not enough to burn an offering. Its wild animals are not enough for a single burnt offering.

17 All the nations amount to nothing in his presence. He considers them less than nothing and worthless.

18 To whom, then, can you compare God? To what statue can you compare him?

19 Craftsmen make idols. Goldsmiths cover them with gold. Silversmiths make silver chains for them.

20 The poorest people choose wood that will not rot and search out skillful craftsmen to set up idols that will not fall over.

21 Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Haven't you been told from the beginning? Don't you understand the foundations of the earth?

22 God is enthroned above the earth, and those who live on it are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the sky like a canopy and spreads it out like a tent to live in.

23 He makes rulers unimportant and makes earthly judges worth nothing.

24 They have hardly been planted. They have hardly been sown. They have hardly taken root in the ground. Then he blows on them and they wither, and a windstorm sweeps them away like straw.

25 "To whom, then, can you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One.

26 Look at the sky and see. Who created these things? Who brings out the stars one by one? He calls them all by name. Because of the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one of them is missing.

27 Jacob, why do you complain? Israel, why do you say, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my rights are ignored by my God"?

28 Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The eternal God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn't grow tired or become weary. His understanding is beyond reach.

29 He gives strength to those who grow tired and increases the strength of those who are weak.

30 Even young people grow tired and become weary, and young men will stumble and fall.

31 Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the LORD will be renewed. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and won't become weary. They will walk and won't grow tired.

1 "Be silent and listen to me, you coastlands. Let the people gain new strength. Let them come near and speak. Let us come together for judgment.

2 "Who has raised up from the east someone to whom the LORD gives victory with every step he takes? Nations are handed over to him. He defeats kings. With his sword he turns them into dust. With his bow he turns them into straw blown by the wind.

3 He chases them, marching by safely on a path his feet have never traveled before.

4 Who has accomplished this? Who has determined the course of history from the beginning? I, the LORD, was there first, and I will be there to the end. I am the one!"

5 The coastlands have seen him and are afraid. The ends of the earth tremble. They have come near and gathered together.

6 People help their neighbors and say to their relatives, "Be brave!"

7 Craftsmen encourage goldsmiths. Metalsmiths encourage blacksmiths who work at their anvils. They say that their soldering is good. And they fasten things with nails so they won't move.

8 "But you are my servant Israel, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the descendant of Abraham, my dear friend.

9 I have taken you from the ends of the earth and called you from its most distant places. I said to you, 'You are my servant. I've chosen you; I haven't rejected you.'

10 Don't be afraid, because I am with you. Don't be intimidated; I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will support you with my victorious right hand.

11 "Everyone who is angry with you will be ashamed and disgraced. Those who oppose you will be reduced to nothing and disappear.

12 You will search for your enemies, but you will not find them. Those who are at war with you will be reduced to nothing and no longer exist.

13 I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand and say to you, 'Don't be afraid; I will help you.'

14 Don't be afraid, Jacob, you worm. You people of Israel, I will help you," declares the LORD, your Defender, the Holy One of Israel.

15 "I am going to make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp, double-edged teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them to dust. You will turn the hills into straw.

16 You will winnow them. The wind will carry them away. The windstorm will scatter them. But you will find joy in the LORD and praise the Holy One of Israel.

17 "The poor and needy are looking for water, but there is none. Their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

18 I will make rivers flow on bare hilltops. I will make springs flow through valleys. I will turn deserts into lakes. I will turn dry land into springs.

19 I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and wild olive trees in the desert. I will place cedar, fir, and cypress trees together in the wilderness.

20 People will see and know. Together they will consider and understand that the LORD's power has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21 "Present your case," says the LORD. "Bring forward your best arguments," says Jacob's king.

22 "Bring [your idols] so they can tell us what's going to happen. Explain past events that your idols told you about so that we may consider them and know what their outcome will be. Tell us about future events.

23 Tell us what's going to happen so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something, good or evil, to intimidate us and make us afraid.

24 You are nothing! You can't do anything! Whoever chooses you is disgusting.

25 "I have raised up someone from the north, and he has come. He will call on my name from the east. He will attack rulers as if they were mud, as if he were treading on clay like a potter.

26 Who revealed this from the beginning so that we could know it? Who revealed this from the past so that we could say that he was right? No one revealed it. No one announced it. No one heard your words.

27 I was the first to tell Zion, 'Look, here they are.' I gave Jerusalem a messenger with the good news.

28 When I look, there is no one. There is no one to advise them. When I ask them a question, will they give an answer?

29 All of them are nothing. They can't do anything. Their statues are nothing but air."

1 Here is my servant, whom I support. Here is my chosen one, with whom I am pleased. I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.

2 He will not cry out or raise [his voice]. He will not make his voice heard in the streets.

3 He will not break off a damaged cattail. He will not even put out a smoking wick. He will faithfully bring about justice.

4 He will not be discouraged or crushed until he has set up justice on the earth. The coastlands will wait for his teachings.

5 The LORD God created the heavens and stretched them out. He shaped the earth and all that comes from it. He gave life to the people who are on it and breath to those who walk on it. This is what the LORD God says:

6 I, the LORD, have called you to do what is right. I will take hold of your hand. I will protect you. I will appoint you as my promise to the people, as my light to the nations.

7 You will give sight to the blind, bring prisoners out of prisons, and bring those who live in darkness out of dungeons.

8 I am the LORD; that is my name. I will not give my glory to anyone else or the praise I deserve to idols.

9 What I said in the past has come true. I will reveal new things before they happen.

10 Sing a new song to the LORD. Sing his praise from the ends of the earth, you people who sail on the seas and all the creatures that live in them, you coastlands and all who live on them.

11 Let those who live in the desert and its cities raise their voices. Let those who live in the settlements of Kedar praise him. Let those who live in Sela sing for joy. Let them shout from the tops of the mountains.

12 Let them give glory to the LORD and announce his praise on the coastlands.

13 The LORD marches out like a warrior. He prepares himself for battle like a soldier. He shouts, gives the battle cry, and overpowers his enemies.

14 I have been silent for a long time. I kept quiet and held myself back. But like a woman in childbirth I will cry out. I will gasp and pant.

15 I will lay waste to mountains and hills. I will dry up all their vegetation. I will turn rivers into islands. I will dry up ponds.

16 I will lead the blind on unfamiliar roads. I will lead them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light in front of them. I will make rough places smooth. These are the things I will do for them, and I will never abandon them.

17 Then those who trust idols and those who say to statues, "You are our gods" will be turned away and put to shame.

18 Listen, you deaf people. Look, you blind people, so that you can see.

19 Who is blind except my servant or deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one who has my trust or blind like the servant of the LORD?

20 You have seen much, but you do not observe anything. Your ears are open, but you hear nothing.

21 The LORD is pleased because he does what is right. He praises the greatness of his teachings and makes them glorious.

22 But these people are robbed and looted. They are all trapped in pits and hidden in prisons. They have become prey with no one to rescue them. They have become loot with no one to say, "Give it back."

23 Who among you will listen to this? Is there anyone who will pay attention and listen in the future?

24 Who gave Jacob away as loot and handed Israel over to robbers? Wasn't it the LORD, against whom we have sinned? They didn't want to live his way. They didn't obey his teachings.

25 So he poured out his burning anger and the horrors of war on them. It engulfed them in flames, but they did not understand. It burned them, but they did not take it to heart.

1 The LORD created Jacob and formed Israel. Now, this is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid, because I have reclaimed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.

2 When you go through the sea, I am with you. When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not harm you.

3 I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Egypt is the ransom I exchanged for you. Sudan and Seba are the price I paid for you.

4 Since you are precious to me, you are honored and I love you. I will exchange others for you. Nations will be the price I pay for your life.

5 Do not be afraid, because I am with you. I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west.

6 I will say to the north, "Give them up," and to the south, "Do not keep them." Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

7 Bring everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

8 Bring the people who are blind but still have eyes, the people who are deaf but still have ears.

9 All nations have gathered together, and people have assembled. Who among them could have revealed this? Who among them could have foretold this to us? They should bring their witnesses to prove that they were right. Let the people hear them. Then they will say that it is true.

10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD. "I have chosen you as my servant so that you can know and believe in me and understand that I am the one [who did this]. No god was formed before me, and there will be none after me.

11 I alone am the LORD, and there is no savior except me.

12 I have revealed it to you, I have saved you, and I have announced it to you. There was no foreign [god] among you. You are my witnesses that I am God," declares the LORD.

13 "From the [first] day I was the one [who did this]. No one can rescue people from my power. When I do something, who can undo it?"

14 This is what the LORD, your Defender, the Holy One of Israel, says: For your sake I will send [an army] to Babylon. I will bring back all the Babylonian refugees in the ships that they take pride in.

15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.

16 The LORD makes a path through the sea and a road through the strong currents.

17 He leads chariots and horses, an army and reinforcements. (They lie down together and do not get up [again]. They are extinguished and snuffed out like a wick.) This is what the LORD says:

18 Forget what happened in the past, and do not dwell on events from long ago.

19 I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don't you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land.

20 Wild animals, jackals, and ostriches will honor me. I will provide water in the desert. I will make rivers on the dry land for my chosen people to drink.

21 I have formed these people for myself. They will praise me.

22 Jacob, you have not prayed to me. Israel, you have grown tired of me.

23 You did not bring me sheep for your burnt offerings or honor me with your sacrifices. I did not burden you by requiring grain offerings or trouble you by requiring incense offerings.

24 You did not buy me any sugar cane with [your] money or satisfy me with the best part of your sacrifices. Rather, you burdened me with your sins and troubled me with your wrongdoings.

25 I alone am the one who is going to wipe away your rebellious actions for my own sake. I will not remember your sins [anymore].

26 Remind me [of what happened]. Let us argue our case together. State your case so that you can prove you are right.

27 Your first ancestor sinned, and your priests rebelled against me.

28 That is why I will corrupt the leaders of the holy place. I will claim Jacob for destruction. I will set up Israel for ridicule.