| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. | 1“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. |
| 2“Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’s hand Double for all her sins.” | 2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.” |
| 3The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. | 3A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. |
| 4Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; | 4Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. |
| 5The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” | 5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” |
| 6The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. | 6A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. |
| 7The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. | 7The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. |
| 8The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” | 8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” |
| 9O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” | 9Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” |
| 10Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. | 10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. |
| 11He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who 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 the nursing ewes. |
| 12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? | 12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance? |
| 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? | 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor? |
| 14With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? | 14Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding? |
| 15Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. | 15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust. |
| 16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. | 16Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering. |
| 17All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. | 17All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness. |
| 18To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? | 18To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him? |
| 19The workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains. | 19To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains? |
| 20Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To prepare a carved image that will not totter. | 20To one bereft of an offering who chooses wood that will not rot, who seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple? |
| 21Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? | 21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth? |
| 22It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. | 22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. |
| 23He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. | 23He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless. |
| 24Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. | 24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble. |
| 25“To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. | 25“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One. |
| 26Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. | 26Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. |
| 27Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? | 27Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”? |
| 28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. | 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; His understanding is beyond searching out. |
| 29He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. | 29He gives power to the faint and increases the strength 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 those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. | 31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. |
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