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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
"Comfort, comfort my people.
<2> Speak kindly to Jerusalem.
Tell Jerusalem,
'Your time of service is finished.
You have paid the price for your sins.'
Lord, you punished Jerusalemtwice for every sin she committed."
<3> Listen, there is someone shouting:
"Prepare a way in the desert for the Lord.
Smooth out the road in the desert for our God.
<4> Fill every valley.
Make every mountain and hill flat.
Make the crooked roads straight.
Make the rough ground smooth.
<5> Then the Glory of the Lord[380]
will be revealed.
And together, all people
will see the his Glory.
Yes, this is what the Lord himself said!"
<6> A voice said, "Speak!"
So the man said, "What should I say?"
The voice said, "People are like grass.
Their goodness is like a wildflower.
<7> A powerful wind from the Lord
blows on the grass and it dies and the wildflower falls."
"Yes, all people are like grass.
<8> Grass dies and wildflowers fall,
but the word of our God continues forever."
<9> Zion,[381] you have good news to tell.
Go up on a high mountain and shout the good news.
Jerusalem, you have good news to tell.
Don't be afraid; speak loudly.
Tell this news to all of the cities of Judah:
"Look, here is your God!
<10> The Lord my Master is coming with power.
He will use his power to rule all the people.
He will bring rewards for his people.
He will have their payment with him.
<11> The Lord will lead his people
like a shepherd leads sheep.
With his arm he will gather
his sheep together.
He will pick up the little sheep
and hold them in his arms while their mothers walk beside him.
<12> Who measured the oceans in the palm of his hand?
Who used his hand to measure the sky?
Who used a bowl to measure all the dust of the earth?
Who used scales to measure the mountains and hills?
<13> No one told the Lord's Spirit
what he should do.
No one told him
how to do the things he did.
<14> Did the Lord ask for anyone's help?
Did anyone teach him to be fair?
Did anyone teach him knowledge?
Did anyone teach him to be wise?
<15> Look, all the nations in the world are like
one small drop in the bucket.
If the Lord took all the faraway nations and put them on his scales,
they would be like small pieces of dust.
<16> All the trees in Lebanon are not enough
to burn on the altar for the Lord.
And all the animals in Lebanon
are not enough to kill for a sacrifice.
<17> Compared to God,
all the nations of the world are nothing.
Compared to him,
they are worth nothing at all.
<18> Can you compare God to anything?
Can you make a picture of God?
<19> No, but some people make statues from rock or wood,
and they call them gods.
One worker makes a statue.
Then another worker covers it with gold
and makes silver chains for it.
<20> And for the base,
he chooses a special kind of wood,
a kind of wood that will not rot.
Then he finds a good wood worker,
and the worker makes a "god" that will not fall over.
<21> Surely you know the truth, don't you?
Surely you have heard.
Surely someone told you long ago.
Surely you understand who made the earth.
<22> It is the Lord who sits above the circle of the earth,
and compared to him, people are like grasshoppers.
He rolled open the skies
like a piece of cloth.
He stretched out the skies
like a tent to sit under.
<23> He makes rulers not important.
He makes the judges of this world completely worthless.
<24> They are like plants that are planted in the ground.
But before they can send their roots into the ground,
God blows on the "plants,"
and they become dead and dry,
and the wind blows them away like straw.
<25> The Holy One says:
"Can you compare me to anyone?
No one is equal to me."
<26> Look up to the skies.
Who created all those stars?
Who created all those 'armies' in the sky?
Who knows every star by name?
He is very strong and powerful, so not one of these stars is lost.
<27> People of Jacob, this is true.
Israel, you should believe this.
So why do you say,
"The Lord cannot see the way I live;
he will not find me and punish me."[382]
<28> Surely you know the truth.
Surely you have heard.
The Lord is the God who lives forever!
He created all the faraway places on earth.
He does not get tired and weary.
You cannot learn all he knows.
<29> The Lord helps tired people be strong.
He gives power to those without it.
<30> Young men get tired and need to rest.
Even young boys stumble and fall.
<31> But those who trust the Lord will become strong again-
like eagles that grow new feathers.
They run without becoming weak.
They walk without becoming tired.
© Copyright 2004 World Bible Translation Center.