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Isaiah 40 :: New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB95)

The Greatness of God

(cf. Luk 3:4–6 )

Isa 40:1

Isa 40:1“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.

Isa 40:2

Isa 40:2“Speak [fn]kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her [fn]warfare has ended,
That her [fn]iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the LORD’S hand
Double for all her sins.”

Isa 40:3

Isa 40:3A voice [fn]is calling,
“Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

Isa 40:4

Isa 40:4“Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

Isa 40:5

Isa 40:5[fn]Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Isa 40:6

Isa 40:6A voice says, “Call out.”
Then [fn]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its [fn]loveliness is like the flower of the field.

Isa 40:7

Isa 40:7The grass withers, the flower fades,
[fn]When the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.

Isa 40:8

Isa 40:8The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.

Isa 40:9

Isa 40:9Get yourself up on a high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”

Isa 40:10

Isa 40:10Behold, the Lord [fn]GOD will come with might,
With His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.

Isa 40:11

Isa 40:11Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

Isa 40:12

Isa 40:12Who has measured the [fn]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens by the [fn]span,
And [fn]calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?

Isa 40:13

Isa 40:13Who has [fn]directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?

Isa 40:14

Isa 40:14With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?

Isa 40:15

Isa 40:15Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the [fn]islands like fine dust.

Isa 40:16

Isa 40:16Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

Isa 40:17

Isa 40:17All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and [fn]meaningless.

Isa 40:18

Isa 40:18To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

Isa 40:19

Isa 40:19As for the [fn]idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

Isa 40:20

Isa 40:20He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To [fn]prepare [fn]an idol that will not totter.

Isa 40:21

Isa 40:21Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Isa 40:22

Isa 40:22It is He who [fn]sits above the [fn]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.

Isa 40:23

Isa 40:23He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the earth [fn]meaningless.

Isa 40:24

Isa 40:24[fn]Scarcely have they been planted,
[fn]Scarcely have they been sown,
[fn]Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the storm carries them away like stubble.

Isa 40:25

Isa 40:25“To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.

Isa 40:26

Isa 40:26Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the [fn]strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.

Isa 40:27

Isa 40:27Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
And the justice due me [fn]escapes the notice of my God”?

Isa 40:28

Isa 40:28Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.

Isa 40:29

Isa 40:29He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.

Isa 40:30

Isa 40:30Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,

Isa 40:31

Isa 40:31Yet those who [fn]wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will [fn]mount up with [fn]wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
See the NASB95 Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NASB95 Footnotes
Literally: to the heart of
Or, hard service
Or, penalty of iniquity accepted as paid off
Or, of one calling out
Or, In order that the
Another reading is I said
Or, constancy
Or, Because
Hebrew: YHWH, usually rendered LORD
DSS reads waters of the sea
Or, half cubit; i.e. 9 in.
Literally: contained or comprehended
Or, measured, marked off
Or, coastlands
Or, void
Or, graven image
Or, set up
Or, a graven image
Or, is enthroned
Or, vault
Or, void
Or, Not even
So DSS and ancient versions; M.T. strong
Literally: passes by my God
Or, hope in
Or, sprout wings
Or, pinions
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New American Standard Bible 1995
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For more information on this translation, see the NASB95 Preface.

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