| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Comfort, comfort My people," says your God." | 1"Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. |
| 2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and announce to her that her time of forced labor is over, her iniquity has been pardoned, and she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins." | 2"Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the LORD has made her pay double for all her sins." |
| 3A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. | 3A voice cries out, "In the wilderness clear a way for the LORD; construct in the desert a road for our God. |
| 4Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. | 4Every valley must be elevated, and every mountain and hill leveled. The rough terrain will become a level plain, the rugged landscape a wide valley. |
| 5And the glory of the LORD will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. | 5The splendor of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it at the same time. For the LORD has decreed it." |
| 6A voice was saying, "Cry out!" Another said, "What should I cry out?"" All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field. | 6A voice says, "Cry out!" Another asks, "What should I cry out?" The first voice responds: "All people are like grass, and all their promises are like the flowers in the field. |
| 7The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. | 7The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the LORD blows on them. Surely humanity is like grass. |
| 8The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever." | 8The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable." |
| 9Zion, herald of good news, go up on a high mountain. Jerusalem, herald of good news, raise your voice loudly. Raise it, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah," Here is your God!" | 9Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion! Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! Shout, don't be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!" |
| 10See, the Lord GOD comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him. | 10Look, the sovereign LORD comes as a victorious warrior; his military power establishes his rule. Look, his reward is with him; his prize goes before him. |
| 11He protects His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the fold of His garment. He gently leads those that are nursing. | 11Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; he leads the ewes along. |
| 12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure or weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in the scales? | 12Who has measured out the waters in the hollow of his hand, or carefully measured the sky, or carefully weighed the soil of the earth, or weighed the mountains in a balance, or the hills on scales? |
| 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or who gave Him His counsel? | 13Who comprehends the mind of the LORD, or gives him instruction as his counselor? |
| 14Who did He consult with? Who gave Him understanding and taught Him the paths of justice? Who taught Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding? | 14From whom does he receive directions? Who teaches him the correct way to do things, or imparts knowledge to him, or instructs him in skillful design? |
| 15Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered as a speck of dust in the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust. | 15Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales. He lifts the coastlands as if they were dust. |
| 16Lebanon is not enough for fuel, or its animals enough for a burnt offering. | 16Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice; its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings. |
| 17All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are considered by Him as nothingness and emptiness. | 17All the nations are insignificant before him; they are regarded as absolutely nothing. |
| 18Who will you compare God with? What likeness will you compare Him to? | 18To whom can you compare God? To what image can you liken him? |
| 19To an idol?--something that a smelter casts, and a metalworker plates with gold and makes silver welds for it? | 19A craftsman casts an idol; a metalsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it. |
| 20To one who shapes a pedestal, choosing wood that does not rot? He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not fall over. | 20To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make an idol that will not fall over. |
| 21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not considered the foundations of the earth? | 21Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you since the very beginning? Have you not understood from the time the earth's foundations were made? |
| 22God is enthroned above the circle of the earth; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth and spreads them out like a tent to live in. | 22He is the one who sits on the earth's horizon; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain, and spreads it out like a pitched tent. |
| 23He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth irrational. | 23He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing; he makes the earth's leaders insignificant. |
| 24They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem hardly takes root in the ground when He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble." | 24Indeed, they are barely planted; yes, they are barely sown; yes, they barely take root in the earth, and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up, and the wind carries them away like straw. |
| 25Who will you compare Me to, or who is My equal?" asks the Holy One. | 25"To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?" says the Holy One. |
| 26Look up and see: who created these? He brings out the starry host by number; He calls all of them by name. Because of His great power and strength, not one of them is missing. | 26Look up at the sky! Who created all these heavenly lights? He is the one who leads out their ranks; he calls them all by name. Because of his absolute power and awesome strength, not one of them is missing. |
| 27Jacob, why do you say, and Israel, why do you assert:" My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God"? | 27Why do you say, Jacob, Why do you say, Israel, "The LORD is not aware of what is happening to me, My God is not concerned with my vindication"? |
| 28Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. | 28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is an eternal God, the creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his wisdom. |
| 29He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. | 29He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy. |
| 30Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, | 30Even youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble. |
| 31but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint." | 31But those who wait for the LORD's help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles' wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired. |
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