40  ^zComfort, comfort my people, says your God.

2  ^aSpeak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her

that ^bher warfare¹ is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned,

that she has received from the Lord’s hand

double for all her sins.

3  ^cA voice cries:²

^d“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

^emake straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4  ^fEvery 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.

5  ^gAnd the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

^hfor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6  A voice says, “Cry!”

And I said,³ “What shall I cry?”

ⁱAll flesh is grass,

and all its beauty⁴ is like the flower of the field.

7  The grass withers, the flower fades

when the breath of the Lord blows on it;

surely the people are grass.

8  ^jThe grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.

9  Go on up to a high mountain,

O Zion, ^kherald of good news;⁵

lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news;⁶

lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

“Behold your God!”

10  ^lBehold, the Lord God comes with might,

and his arm rules for him;

^mbehold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.

11  ⁿHe will tend his flock like a shepherd;

^ohe will gather the lambs in his arms;

^phe will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young.

12  ^qWho 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?

13  ^rWho has measured⁷ the Spirit of the Lord,

or what man shows him his counsel?

14  Whom did he consult,

and who made him understand?

^sWho taught him the path of justice,

and taught him knowledge,

and showed him the way of understanding?

15  Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,

and are accounted ^tas the dust on the scales;

behold, he takes up ^uthe coastlands like fine dust.

16  Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,

nor are ^vits beasts enough for a burnt offering.

17  ^wAll the nations are as nothing before him,

they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

18  ^xTo whom then will you liken God,

^yor what likeness compare with him?

19  ^yAn idol! A craftsman casts it,

and a goldsmith overlays it with gold

and casts for it silver chains.

20  ^zHe who is too impoverished for an offering

chooses wood⁸ that will not rot;

he seeks out a skillful craftsman

to set up an idol that will not move.

21  ^aDo 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?

22  It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,

and its inhabitants are ^blike grasshoppers;

^cwho stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

23  ^dwho brings princes to nothing,

and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

24  Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,

scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,

when he blows on them, and they wither,

^eand the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25  ^fTo whom then will you compare me,

that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

26  Lift up your eyes on high and see:

who created these?

^gHe 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.

27  Why do you say, O Jacob,

and speak, O Israel,

^h“My way is hidden from the Lord,

ⁱand my right is disregarded by my God”?

28  Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is ^jthe everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

^khis understanding is unsearchable.

29  He gives power to the faint,

and to him who has no might he increases strength.

30  Even youths shall faint and be weary,

and young men shall fall exhausted;

31  but ^lthey who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings ^mlike eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.

41  ⁿListen to me in silence, ^oO coastlands;

let the peoples renew their strength;

let them approach, then let them speak;

let us together draw near for judgment.

2  ^pWho stirred up one from the east

whom victory meets at every ^qstep?¹

^rHe gives up nations before him,

so that he tramples kings underfoot;

he makes them like dust with his sword,

^slike driven stubble with his bow.

3  He pursues them and passes on safely,

by paths his feet have not trod.

4  ^tWho has performed and done this,

calling the generations from the beginning?

^uI, the Lord, the first,

and with the last; I am he.

5  ^vThe coastlands have seen and are afraid;

the ends of the earth tremble;

they have drawn near and come.

6  Everyone helps his neighbor

and says to his brother, “Be strong!”

7  ^wThe craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,

and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,

saying of the soldering, “It is good”;

and they strengthen it with nails ^xso that it cannot be moved.

8  But you, Israel, ^ymy servant,

Jacob, ^zwhom I have chosen,

the offspring of Abraham, ^amy friend;

9  you whom I took from the ends of the earth,

and called ^bfrom its farthest corners,

saying to you, “You are ^ymy servant,

^zI have chosen you and not cast you off”;

10  fear not, for I am with you;

be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with ^cmy righteous right hand.

11  ^dBehold, all who are incensed against you

shall be put to shame and confounded;

those who strive against you

shall be as nothing and shall perish.

12  ^eYou shall seek those who contend with you,

but you shall not find them;

^fthose who war against you

shall be as nothing at all.

13  For I, the Lord your God,

hold your right hand;

it is I who say to you, “Fear not,

I am the one who helps you.”

14  Fear not, you ^gworm Jacob,

you men of Israel!

I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;

your ^hRedeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

15  ⁱBehold, I make of you a threshing sledge,

new, sharp, and having teeth;

you shall thresh ^jthe mountains and crush them,

and you shall make the hills like chaff;

16  ^kyou shall winnow them, and ^lthe wind shall carry them away,

and the tempest shall scatter them.

^mAnd you shall rejoice in the Lord;

in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

17  ⁿWhen the poor and needy seek water,

and there is none,

and their tongue is parched with thirst,

I the Lord will answer them;

I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18  ^oI will open rivers on the bare heights,

and fountains in the midst of the valleys.

^pI will make the wilderness a pool of water,

and the dry land springs of water.

19  ^qI will put in the wilderness the cedar,

the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.

I will set in the desert ^rthe cypress,

the plane and the pine together,

20  that they may see and know,

may consider and understand together,

that ^sthe hand of the Lord has done this,

the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21  Set forth your case, says the Lord;

bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

22  Let them bring them, and ^ttell us

what is to happen.

Tell us the former things, what they are,

that we may consider them,

that we may know their outcome;

or declare to us the things to come.

23  ^tTell us what is to come hereafter,

that we may know that you are gods;

^udo good, or do harm,

that we may be dismayed and terrified.²

24  Behold, ^vyou are nothing,

and your work is less than nothing;

an abomination is he who chooses you.

25  ^wI stirred up one from the north, and he has come,

^xfrom the rising of the sun, ^yand he shall call upon my name;

he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,

as the potter treads clay.

26  ^zWho declared it from the beginning, that we might know,

and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?

There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,

none who heard your words.

27  ^aI was the first to say³ to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”

and ^bI give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.

28  ^cBut when I look, there is no one;

among these there is no counselor

who, when I ask, gives an answer.

29  ^dBehold, they are all a delusion;

their works are nothing;

their metal images are empty wind.

42  ^eBehold ^fmy servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, ^gin whom my soul delights;

^hI have put my Spirit upon him;

ⁱhe will bring forth justice to the nations.

2  He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

3  ^ja bruised reed he will not break,

and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

^khe will faithfully bring forth justice.

4  He will not grow faint or be discouraged¹

till he has established justice in the earth;

and ^lthe coastlands wait for his law.

5  Thus says God, the Lord,

who created the heavens ^mand stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

ⁿwho gives breath to the people on it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

6  “I am the Lord; ^oI have called you² in righteousness;

I will take you by the hand and keep you;

I will give you ^pas a covenant for the people,

^qa light for the nations,

7  ^rto open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

^sfrom the prison those who sit in darkness.

8  I am the Lord; that is my name;

^tmy glory I give to no other,

nor my praise to carved idols.

9  Behold, the former things have come to pass,

^uand new things I now declare;

before they spring forth

I tell you of them.”

10  ^vSing to the Lord a new song,

his praise from the end of the earth,

^wyou who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,

^lthe coastlands and their inhabitants.

11  Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,

the villages that ^xKedar inhabits;

let the habitants of ^ySela sing for joy,

let them shout from the top of the mountains.

12  Let them give glory to the Lord,

and declare his praise in ^lthe coastlands.

13  ^zThe Lord goes out like a mighty man,

like a man of war ^ahe stirs up his zeal;

he cries out, ^bhe shouts aloud,

he shows himself mighty against his foes.

14  For a long time I have held my peace;

I have kept still and restrained myself;

now I will cry out ^clike a woman in labor;

I will gasp and pant.

15  ^dI will lay waste mountains and hills,

and dry up all their vegetation;

I will turn the rivers into islands,³

and dry up the pools.

16  ^eAnd I will lead the blind

in a way that they do not know,

in paths that they have not known

I will guide them.

I will turn the darkness before them into light,

^fthe rough places into level ground.

These are the things I do,

and I do not forsake them.

17  ^gThey are turned back and utterly put to shame,

who trust in carved idols,

who say to metal images,

“You are our gods.”

18  Hear, you deaf,

and look, you blind, that you may see!

19  Who is blind but my servant,

or deaf as my messenger whom I send?

Who is blind as my dedicated one,⁴

or blind as the servant of the Lord?

20  ^hHe sees many things, but does not observe them;

ⁱhis ears are open, but he does not hear.

21  The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake,

to magnify his law and make it glorious.

22  But this is a people plundered and looted;

they are all of them trapped in holes

^jand hidden in prisons;

they have become plunder with none to rescue,

spoil with none to say, “Restore!”

23  Who among you will give ear to this,

will attend and listen for the time to come?

24  Who gave up Jacob to the looter,

and Israel to the plunderers?

Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,

in whose ways they would not walk,

and whose law they would not obey?

25  So he poured on him the heat of his anger

and the might of battle;

it set him on fire all around, ^kbut he did not understand;

it burned him up, ^lbut he did not take it to heart.

43  But now thus says the Lord,

^mhe who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

ⁿ“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

^oI have called you by name, you are mine.

2  ^pWhen you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

^pwhen you walk through fire ^qyou shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

3  For ^rI am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

^sI give Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and ^tSeba in exchange for you.

4  Because you are precious in my eyes,

and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

5  ^uFear not, for I am with you;

^vI will bring your offspring from the east,

and from the west I will gather you.

6  I will say to the north, Give up,

and to the south, Do not withhold;

bring ^wmy sons from afar

and ^wmy daughters from the end of the earth,

7  everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.”

8  Bring out ^xthe people who are blind, yet have eyes,

who are deaf, yet have ears!

9  ^yAll the nations gather together,

and the peoples assemble.

Who among them can declare this,

and show us the former things?

Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,

and let them hear and say, It is true.

10  ^z“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“and ^amy servant whom I have chosen,

that you may know and believe me

and understand that I am he.

^bBefore me no god was formed,

nor shall there be any after me.

11  ^cI, I am the Lord,

and besides me there is no savior.

12  I declared and saved and proclaimed,

when there was no strange god among you;

and ^zyou are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.

13  Also ^dhenceforth I am he;

there is none who can deliver from my hand;

I work, and who can turn it back?”

14  Thus says the Lord,

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

^e“For your sake I send to Babylon

and ^fbring them all down as fugitives,

^geven the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.

15  I am the Lord, your Holy One,

the Creator of Israel, your King.”

16  Thus says the Lord,

^hwho makes a way in the sea,

a path in the mighty waters,

17  who ⁱbrings forth chariot and horse,

army and warrior;

they lie down, they cannot rise,

^jthey are extinguished, ^kquenched like a wick:

18  ^l“Remember not the former things,

nor consider the things of old.

19  ^mBehold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

ⁿI will make a way in the wilderness

^oand rivers in the desert.

20  The wild beasts will honor me,

^pthe jackals and the ostriches,

^qfor I give water in the wilderness,

rivers in the desert,

to give drink to my chosen people,

21  the people whom I formed for myself

^rthat they might declare my praise.

22  “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;

but ^syou have been weary of me, O Israel!

23  ^tYou have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,

or honored me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with offerings,

^sor wearied you with frankincense.

24  You have not bought me sweet cane with money,

or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened me with your sins;

you have wearied me with your iniquities.

25  “I, I am he

^uwho blots out ^vyour transgressions for my own sake,

and I will not remember your sins.

26  Put me in remembrance; ^wlet us argue together;

set forth your case, that you may be proved right.

27  ^xYour first father sinned,

and ^yyour mediators transgressed against me.

28  Therefore ^zI will profane the princes of the sanctuary,

and ^adeliver Jacob to utter destruction

and Israel to reviling.