| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1"Comfort! Yes, comfort my people," says your God. | 1"Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. |
| 2"Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her heavy service has been completed, that her penalty has been paid, that 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 cries out: 'In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; and in the desert a straight highway for our God.' | 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 lowered; the rough ground will become level, and the mountain ridges made 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. |
| 5Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity will see it at once; 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 says, "Cry out!" So I asked, "What am I to cry out?" "All humanity is grass, and all its loyalty is like the flowers 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. |
| 7Grass withers and flowers fade away when the LORD's breath blows on them; surely the people are like grass. | 7The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the LORD blows on them. Surely humanity is like grass. |
| 8Grass withers and flowers fade away, when the LORD's breath blows on them, but the word of our God will stand forever. " | 8The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable." |
| 9"Climb up a high mountain, you messenger of good news to Zion! Lift up your voice with strength, you messenger to Jerusalem! Lift it up! Don't be afraid! Say to the towns 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!" |
| 10Look! The Lord GOD comes with strength, and his arm rules for him. Look! His reward is with him, and his payment accompanies 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. |
| 11Like a shepherd, he tends his flock. He gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them close to his heart, and gently leads the mother sheep." | 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. |
| 12"Who has measured the waters of the sea in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens by the width of his hand? Who has enclosed the dust of the earth in a measuring bowl, or weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? | 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 fathomed the Spirit of the LORD, or as his counselor has taught him? | 13Who comprehends the mind of the LORD, or gives him instruction as his counselor? |
| 14With whom did he consult to enlighten and instruct him on the path of justice? Or who taught him knowledge and showed him the way of wisdom? | 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? |
| 15"Look! The nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are reckoned as dust on the scales. Look! He even lifts up the islands like powder! | 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 would not provide enough fuel, nor are 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 reckoned by him as nothing and chaos. | 17All the nations are insignificant before him; they are regarded as absolutely nothing. |
| 18"To whom, then, will you compare me, the One who is God? Or to what image will you liken me? | 18To whom can you compare God? To what image can you liken him? |
| 19To an idol? A craftsman makes the image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains. | 19A craftsman casts an idol; a metalsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it. |
| 20To the impoverished person? He prepares an offering— wood that won't rot— Or to the one who chooses a skilled craftsman and seeks to erect an idol that won't topple?" | 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. |
| 21"You know, don't you? You have heard, haven't you? Hasn't it been told you from the beginning? Haven't you understood from 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? |
| 22He's the one who sits above the disk of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He's the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them 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. |
| 23who brings princes to nothing, and makes void the rulers of the earth. | 23He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing; he makes the earth's leaders insignificant. |
| 24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the earth, than he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest sweeps 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. |
| 25"To whom, then, will you compare me, and to whom should I be equal?" asks the Holy One. | 25"To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?" says the Holy One. |
| 26"Lift your eyes up to heaven and see who created all these— the one who leads out their vast array of stars by number, calling them all by name— because of his great might and his powerful strength — and not one 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. |
| 27"Jacob, why do you say— and Israel, why do you complain— 'My predicament is hidden from the LORD, and my cause 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"? |
| 28Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary; and his understanding cannot be fathomed. | 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's the one who gives might to the faint, renewing strength for the powerless. | 29He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy. |
| 30Even boys grow tired and weary, and young men collapse and fall, | 30Even youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble. |
| 31but those who keep waiting for the LORD will renew their strength. Then they'll soar on wings like eagles; they'll run and not grow weary; they'll walk and not grow tired." | 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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