| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. | 1Comfort, 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.” | 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." |
| 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 crying out: Prepare the way of 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 will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, 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 appear, 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 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. |
| 7The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. | 7The grass withers, the flowers fade 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, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains 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!” | 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!" |
| 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. | 10See, the Lord GOD comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany 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 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. |
| 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 gathered the dust of the earth in a measure or weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in the scales? |
| 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? | 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or who gave Him His counsel? |
| 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? | 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? |
| 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. | 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. |
| 16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. | 16Lebanon is not enough for fuel, or 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; they are considered by Him as nothingness and emptiness. |
| 18To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? | 18Who will you compare God with? What likeness will you compare Him to? |
| 19The workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains. | 19To an idol?--something that a smelter casts, and a metalworker plates with gold and makes silver welds for it? |
| 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 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. |
| 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 considered the foundations 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. | 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. |
| 23He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. | 23He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth irrational. |
| 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. | 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." |
| 25“To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. | 25Who will you compare Me to, 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. | 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. |
| 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”? | 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"? |
| 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? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. |
| 29He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. | 29He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. |
| 30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, | 30Youths may faint and grow 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 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." |
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