THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ISAIAH
Isaiah 40 ©
A prophecy of the coming of Christ, and of the preaching of the Holy Gospel, v. 1. By John the Baptist, and the apostles, 3, etc. The power and efficacy of the Word of God, 4, etc. What the ministers of the Word would preach, 6, etc. The power and wisdom of God in governing the world, 12. Whose image neither can nor may be made, 18. The folly of idolaters, 19. The vanity of all the great ones of this world, 23. Reproof of them who complain that God neither can nor will protect them, 26.
COMFORT ye, comfort ye my people, 1saith 2your God.
3Speak ye 4comfortably 5to Jerusalem, and 6cry unto her, that 7her warfare is accomplished, that her 8iniquity is 9pardoned: 10for she hath received of the LORD’S hand 11double for all her sins.
¶ 12Thea voice of him 13that crieth in the wilderness, 14Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight 15in the desert 16a highway for our God.
17Every valley shall be exalted, and 18every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the 19crooked shall be made straight, and the 20rough places 21plain:
And 22theb glory of the LORD 23shall be revealed, and all 24flesh shall 25see it together: 26for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
27The voice said, 28Cry. And 29he said, What shall I cry? 30Allc flesh 31is grass, and 32all 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 33the people is grass.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the wordd of our God 34shall stand for ever.
¶ 35O Zion, 36that bringest 37good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O 38Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold 39your God!
Behold, 40the Lord GOD will come 41with strong hand, and his arm 42shall rule for him: behold, 43hise reward is 44with him, and 45his work before him.
He shall 46feed 47hisf flock like a shepherd: he shall gather 48the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gentlyg lead those 49that are with young.
¶ 50Who hath measured the waters 51in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span,h and comprehended the dust of the earth in 52a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
Whoi hath 53directed 54the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counseller hath 55taught him?
56With whom took he counsel, and 57who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way 58of understanding?
Behold, the nations 59are 60as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust 61of the balance: behold, he 62taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
And 63Lebanon 64is not sufficient 65to burn, nor 66the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
All nations before him 67are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing,j and 68vanity.
¶Tok whom 69then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
70The workman melteth 71a graven image, and 72the goldsmith 73spreadeth it over with gold, and 74casteth silver chains.
He that is so impoverished 75that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, 76that shall not be moved.
77Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you 78from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is 79he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are 80as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out thel heavens as a curtain, and 81spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
That 82bringeth the princesm to nothing; he 83maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Yea, 84they 85shall 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 86as stubble.
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith 87the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created 88these things, that 89bringeth out 90their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; 91not one faileth.
Why sayest thou, 92O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, 93My way is hid from the LORD, and 94my 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, 95fainteth not, neither is weary? there is non searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Even 96the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon the LORD shall 97renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings 98as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.