Isaiah 40 JPS Tanakh (1917)

About JPS

Jewish
OT: Masoretic Hebrew
Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)
Formal (word for word)
1917
Public domain

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

Notes on this text (1)

Numbers like (22-2) in the text give the Hebrew verse numbering where it differs.

JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God.

1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.

2 Bid Jerusalem take heart, and proclaim unto her, that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off; that she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.

2 “Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of Yahweh’s hand double for all her sins.”

3 Hark! one calleth: 'Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make plain in the desert a highway for our God.

3 The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God.

4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the rugged shall be made level, and the rough places a plain;

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain.

5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.'

5 Yahweh’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.”

6 Hark! one saith: 'Proclaim!' And he saith: 'What shall I proclaim?' 'All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field;

6 The voice of one saying, “Cry out!” One said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.

7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the LORD bloweth upon it — surely the people is grass.

7 The grass withers, the flower fades, because Yahweh’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever.'

8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever.”

9 O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah: 'Behold your God!'

9 You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Don’t be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold, your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come as a Mighty One, and His arm will rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.

10 Behold, the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

11 Even as a shepherd that feedeth his flock, that gathereth the lambs in his arm, and carrieth them in his bosom, and gently leadeth those that give suck.

11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.

12 Who 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?

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measuring basket, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

13 Who hath meted out the spirit of the LORD? Or who was His counsellor that he might instruct Him?

13 Who has directed Yahweh’s Spirit, or has taught him as his counselor?

14 With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of right, and taught Him knowledge, and made Him to know the way of discernment?

14 Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold the isles are as a mote in weight.

15 Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for burnt-offerings.

16 Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are accounted by Him as things of nought, and vanity.

17 All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.

18 To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?

18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?

19 The image perchance, which the craftsman hath melted, and the goldsmith spread over with gold, the silversmith casting silver chains?

19 A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.

20 A holm-oak is set apart, he chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning craftsman to set up an image, that shall not be moved.

20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up a carved image for him that will not be moved.

21 Know ye not? hear ye not? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundations of the earth?

21 Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is He that sitteth above 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;

22 It 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,

23 That bringeth princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as a thing of nought.

23 who brings princes to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

24 Scarce are they planted, scarce are they sown, scarce hath their stock taken root in the earth; when He bloweth upon them, they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.

24 They are planted scarcely. They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.

25 To whom then will ye liken Me, that I should be equal? saith the Holy One.

25 “To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see: who hath created these? He that bringeth out their host by number, He calleth them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one faileth.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.

27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: 'My way is hid from the LORD, and my right is passed over from my God'?

27 Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel, “My way is hidden from Yahweh, and the justice due me is disregarded by my God”?

28 Hast 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? His discernment is past searching out.

28 Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might He increaseth strength.

29 He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall;

30 Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall;

31 But they that wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.

31 but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.

Cross references (31)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

How these were chosen

“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

Quotes verse 40:10 Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians (Chapters XXXIV–XXXIX)
And thus He forewarns us: "Behold, the Lord [cometh], and His reward is before His face, to render to every man according to his work." He exhorts us, therefore, with our whole heart to attend to this, that we be not lazy or slothful in any good work.
Read in context · Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885)
Quotes verse 40:12 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies (Book IV, Chapter XVIII)
Ye have heard "that the heavens are meted out in the palm of [His] hand:" tell me the measure, and recount the endless multitude of cubits, explain to me the fulness, the breadth, the length, the height, the beginning and end of the measurement,--things which the heart of man understands not, neither does it comprehend them.
Read in context · Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885)
Quotes verse 40:6–8 Augustine of Hippo, Confessions (Book XIII, Chapters XII–XV)
Because the scroll shall be rolled together, and the grass over which it was spread shall with its goodliness pass away; but Thy Word remaineth for ever, which now appeareth unto us in the dark image of the clouds, and through the glass of the heavens, not as it is; because we also, although we be the well-beloved of Thy …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
Quotes verse 40:3 John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew (Homily X)
Thus the prophet saith that he shall come saying, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." And he himself when he was come said, "Bring forth fruits meet for repentance," which corresponds with, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Seest thou that both by the words of the prophet, and by his own preaching, this …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
Quotes verse 40:3 Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures (Lecture III)
For the voice is heard of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)

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