| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. | 1Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. |
| 2Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. | 2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. |
| 3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. | 3A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. |
| 4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: | 4Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. |
| 5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. | 5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." |
| 6The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: | 6A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" "All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. |
| 7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. | 7The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. |
| 8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. | 8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever." |
| 9O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! | 9You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!" |
| 10Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. | 10See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. |
| 11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. | 11He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. |
| 12Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? | 12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? |
| 13Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counseller hath taught him? | 13Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor? |
| 14With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? | 14Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? |
| 15Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. | 15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. |
| 16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. | 16Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. |
| 17All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. | 17Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. |
| 18To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? | 18With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? |
| 19The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. | 19As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. |
| 20He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. | 20A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple. |
| 21Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? | 21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? |
| 22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: | 22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. |
| 23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. | 23He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. |
| 24Yea, they shall 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 as stubble. | 24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. |
| 25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. | 25"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. |
| 26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. | 26Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. |
| 27Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? | 27Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? |
| 28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. | 28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. |
| 29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. | 29He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. |
| 30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: | 30Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; |
| 31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. | 31but those who hope 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 be faint. |
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