•   Verse by verse
  •   Verse numbers
  •   Section headings
  •   Red letters

Isaiah 40 - 44

The Glory of Yahweh Will Be Revealed

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
2
“Speak to the heart of Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her warfare has been fulfilled,
That her iniquity has been removed,
That she has received from the hand of Yahweh
Double for all her sins.”

3
A voice is calling,
“Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4
Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5
Then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
6
A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its lovingkindness is like the flower of the field.
7
The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of Yahweh blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.

9
Get yourself up on a high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of good news,
Raise up your voice powerfully,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Raise it up, do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10
Behold, Lord Yahweh will come with strength,
With His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
11
Like a shepherd He will shepherd His flock;
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And encompassed the heavens by the span,
And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
13
Who has encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
14
With whom did He take counsel and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And made Him know the way of understanding?
15
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are counted as a speck of dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the coastlands like fine dust.
16
Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17
All the nations are as nothing before Him;
They are counted by Him as non‑existent and utterly formless.

18
To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
19
As for the graven images, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20
He who is too impoverished to make such a contribution
Chooses a tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a wise craftsman
To prepare a graven image that will not be shaken.

21
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22
It is He who inhabits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
It is He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to inhabit.
23
It is He who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the earth utterly formless.
24
Scarcely have they been planted;
Scarcely have they been sown;
Scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
25
“To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
26
Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His vigor and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.

27
Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from Yahweh,
And the justice due me passes by my God”?
28
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29
He gives power to the weary,
And to him who lacks vigor He increases might.
30
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And choice young men stumble badly,
31
Yet those who hope in Yahweh
Will gain new power;
They will mount up with wings like eagles;
They will run and not get tired;
They will walk and not become weary.

Do Not Fear, for I Am with You

“Coastlands, listen to Me in silence,
And let the peoples gain new power;
Let them come forward, then let them speak;
Let us draw near together for judgment.
2
Who has awakened one from the east
Whom He calls in righteousness to His feet?
He gives up nations before him
And has dominion over kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
As the wind‑driven chaff with his bow.
3
He pursues them, passing on in peace,
By a way he had not come with his feet.
4
Who has worked and done it,
Calling forth the generations from the beginning?
‘I, Yahweh, am the first; and with the last, I am He.’”

5
The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The ends of the earth tremble;
They have drawn near and have come.
6
Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7
So the craftsman strengthens the smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer strengthens him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he strengthens it with nails,
So that it will not be shaken.
8
“But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Seed of Abraham My friend,
9
You whom I have strongly taken hold of from the ends of the earth,
And called from its remotest parts
And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10
Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will make you mighty, surely I will help you;
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11
Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12
You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non‑existent.
13
For I am Yahweh your God, who strongly takes hold of your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’
14
Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
I will help you,” declares Yahweh, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15
Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them,
And will make the hills like chaff.
16
You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will rejoice in Yahweh;
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

17
“The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none,
And their tongue is parched with thirst;
I, Yahweh, will answer them Myself,
As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.
18
I will open rivers on the bare heights
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water
And the dry land fountains of water.
19
I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree;
I will place the juniper in the desert
Together with the box tree and the cypress,
20
That they may see and know,
And establish and gain insight as well,
That the hand of Yahweh has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21
“Bring near your case,” Yahweh says.
“Bring forward your mighty arguments,”
The King of Jacob says.
22
Let them bring it forth and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the former events, declare what they were,
That we may establish our heart on them and know their outcome.
Or cause us to hear of what is coming;
23
Declare the things that are to come afterward,
That we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.
24
Behold, you are nothing,
And your work is non‑existent;
He who chooses you is an abomination.

25
“I have awakened one from the north, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon officials as upon mortar,
Even as the potter treads clay.”
26
Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
Surely there was no one who declared;
Surely there was no one who caused those words to be heard;
Surely there was no one who heard your words.
27
“Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a messenger of good news.’
28
But I look, and there is no one,
And there is no counselor among them
Who, if I ask, can respond with a word.
29
Behold, all of them are false;
Their works are non‑existent;
Their molten images are wind and utter formlessness.

Yahweh’s Chosen Servant

“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul is well‑pleased.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
2
He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3
A crushed reed He will not break
And a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will bring forth justice in truth.
4
He will not be faint or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

5 Thus says the God, Yahweh,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,
6
“I am Yahweh, I have called You in righteousness;
I will also take hold of You by the hand and guard You,
And I will give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
7
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who inhabit darkness from the prison.
8
I am Yahweh, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images.
9
Behold, the former things have come to pass;
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I cause you to hear them.”

10
Sing to Yahweh a new song,
Sing His praise from the end of the earth!
You who go down to the sea, as well as its fullness.
You coastlands, and those who inhabit them.
11
Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices,
The villages where Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.
12
Let them give glory to Yahweh
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13
Yahweh will go forth like a warrior;
He will awaken His zeal like a man of war.
He will make a loud shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail against His enemies.

Israel’s Blindness and Deafness

14
“I have kept silent for a long time;
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan;
I will both gasp and pant.
15
I will lay waste the mountains and hills
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the pools of waters.
16
I will lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will make darkness into light before them
And rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will not forsake them.”
17
They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame,
Who trust in graven images,
Who say to molten images,
“You are our gods.”

18
Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19
Who is blind but My servant,
Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of Yahweh?
20
You have seen many things, but you do not keep them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
21
Yahweh was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
That He make the law great and majestic.
22
But this is a people plundered and pillaged as spoil;
All of them are trapped in caves,
Or are hidden away in prisons;
They have become a plunder with none to deliver them,
And a spoil, with none to say, “Have them return!”

23
Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will give heed and hear hereafter?
24
Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they were not willing to walk,
And whose law they did not obey?
25
So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not know it;
And it burned him, but he did not set it upon his heart.

The Redemption of Israel

But now, thus says Yahweh, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
3
For I am Yahweh your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4
Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.
5
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your seed from the east,
And gather you from the west.
6
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My sons from afar
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
7
Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Israel Is Yahweh’s Witness

8
Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
And the deaf, even though they have ears.
9
All the nations have gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can declare this
And make us hear the former things?
Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
10
“You are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no god formed,
And there will be none after Me.
11
I, even I, am Yahweh,
And there is no savior besides Me.
12
It is I who have declared and saved and caused it to be heard,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh,
“And I am God.
13
Even from eternity I am He,
And there is none who can deliver out of My hand;
I act and who can reverse it?”

Rivers in the Wasteland

14 Thus says Yahweh your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring down those who fled—all of them,
Even the Chaldeans—into the ships in which they shouted for joy.
15
I am Yahweh, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.”
16 Thus says Yahweh,
Who makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17
Who brings forth the chariot and the horse,
The military force and the mighty man;
They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been extinguished and quenched like a wick:
18
“Do not remember the former things,
Nor carefully consider things of the past.
19
Behold, I will do something new;
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not know it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the wasteland.
20
The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the wasteland,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21
The people whom I formed for Myself
Will recount My praise.

22
“Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;
But you have become weary of Me, O Israel.
23
You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you glorified Me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
Nor wearied you with frankincense.
24
You have not bought Me sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather you have burdened Me with your sins;
You have wearied Me with your iniquities.

25
“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins.
26
Bring Me to remembrance, let us enter into judgment together;
Recount your cause, that you may be proved right.
27
Your first father sinned,
And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me.
28
So I will profane the princes of the sanctuary,
And I will give Jacob to be devoted to destruction and Israel to revilement.

No God Besides Yahweh

“But now hear, O Jacob, My servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2
Thus says Yahweh who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you,
‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,
And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3
For I will pour out water on the thirsty ground
And streams on the dry land;
I will pour out My Spirit on your seed
And My blessing on your offspring;
4
And they will spring up among the grass
Like poplars by streams of water.’
5
This one will say, ‘I am Yahweh’s’;
And this one will call on the name of Jacob;
And this one will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to Yahweh,’
And will name Israel’s name with honor.

6 “Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts:
‘I am the first, and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me.
7
Who is like Me? Let him call out and declare it;
And let him tell it to Me in order,
From the time that I established the ancient people.
And let them declare to them the things that are to come
And the events that are going to take place.
8
Do not be in dread and do not be afraid;
Have I not long since caused it to be heard to you and declared it?
And you are My witnesses.
Is there any God besides Me,
Or is there any other Rock?
I know of none.’”

The Futility of Idolatry

9 Those who form a graven image are all of them futile, and their desirable things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.
10 Who has formed a god or cast a graven image to no profit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be put to shame. The craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them be in dread, let them together be put to shame. 12 The man crafts iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, forming it with hammers and working it with his powerful arm. He also gets hungry and has no power; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 Another crafts wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a stylus. He makes it with planes and outlines it with a compass and makes it like the form of a man, like the glory of man, so that it may sit in a house. 14 In order to cut cedars for himself, he takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also works to produce a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm; I have seen the fire.” 17 But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.” 18 They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they will have no insight. 19 No one causes this to return to his heart, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination; I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver his soul, and he cannot say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

Yahweh Forgives and Redeems

21
“Remember these things, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.
22
I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud
And your sins like a cloud.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
23
Shout for joy, O heavens, for Yahweh has done it!
Make a loud shout, you lower parts of the earth;
Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it;
For Yahweh has redeemed Jacob
And in Israel He shows forth His beautiful glory.

24 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb,
“I, Yahweh, am the maker of all things,
Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth all alone,
25
Causing the omens of boasters to be annulled,
And making fools out of diviners,
Causing wise men to turn back,
And making foolishness out of their knowledge,
26
Confirming the word of His servant—
And the counsel of His messengers He will complete—
And being the One who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’
And I will raise up her waste places again.
27
It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’
And I will make your rivers dry.
28
It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!
And all My good pleasure he will complete.’
And saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”