Self-interpreting Bible

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Isaiah 40

1God sendeth comfort to his people in the remission of sins. 3The preaching of John the Baptist. 9The glad tidings of the gospel. 12God's infinite power and wisdom; 18the vanity of likening him to any other being. 26An exhortation to trust in God's power and providence without desponding.

1 aCOMFORT ye, comfort ye my people, bsaith your God.

2 Speak ye 1comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her 2warfare is accomplished, cthat her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's hand ddouble for all her sins.

3 ¶eThe voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, fPrepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 gEvery valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and hthe crooked shall be made 3straight, and the rough places 4plain:

5 iAnd the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, jand all flesh shall see it together: kfor the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? lAll flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

7 mThe grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the 5spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely nthe people is grass.

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: obut the word of our God shall stand for ever.

9 ¶6O Zion, that pbringest good tidings, get thee qup into the high mountain; 7O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, rbe not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, sBehold your God!

10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come t8with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, uhis reward is with him, and 9his work before him.

11 He shall vfeed his flock like a shepherd: he shall wgather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall xgently lead those 10that are with young.

12 ¶yWho 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 11a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

13 zWho hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his 12counsellor hath taught him?

14 With whom took he counsel, and who 13instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and ataught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of 14understanding?

  • 13: Heb. made him understand.
  • a: Job 21:22
  • 14: Heb. understandings?

15 Behold, bthe 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.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, cnor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All nations before him are as dnothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

18 ¶To whom then will ye eliken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

19 fThe workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

20 He that is so impoverished that he 15hath no *oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a *cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that gshall not be moved.

21 hHave 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?

22 It is 16he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are ias grasshoppers; that jstretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

23 kThat bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

24 Yea, lthey shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also mblow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

25 nTo whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith othe Holy One.

26 pLift 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.

27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, qMy way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

28 ¶rHast 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? sthere is no searching of his understanding.

29 tHe giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30 uEven the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31 But vthey that wait upon the LORD shall 17renew their strength; they shall wmount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and xthey shall walk, and not faint.