Isaiah 40 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~540 BC, near the end of the Babylonian exile
Location
Babylon (modern-day Iraq), addressed to Jewish exiles
Audience
Jewish exiles who had been deported from Judah after Jerusalem's destruction in 586 BC
Situation
After decades of exile in Babylon, the Jewish people were discouraged and wondered if God had abandoned them. This chapter begins a new section of Isaiah with messages of comfort and hope, announcing that their punishment is complete and deliverance is coming.
Key Background
The Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple in 586 BC, taking the Jewish people captive. By this time, most exiles had been born in Babylon and had never seen their homeland. The rise of Cyrus the Persian was about to change the political landscape, leading to the decree allowing Jews to return home in 539 BC.
my people," says your God.
Speak to Jerusalem. Call out to her — her is over, her has been paid. She has received from Yahweh's hand double for all her
A is calling out: "In the clear the way for Yahweh! In the desert, make a straight for our God!"
Every will be raised up. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The rough ground will become level, the jagged places a smooth plain.
Then the of Yahweh will be revealed, and all will see it together — because the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.
A voice says, "Call out!" And I said, "What should I call out?" "All humanity is grass, and all their is like a
The grass dries up, the flower fades when the of Yahweh blows on it. The people really are just grass.
The grass dries up, the flower fades — but the of our God stands
Get up on a high mountain, Zion, you who bring news! Raise your voice with power, Jerusalem, you who bring news! Raise it — don't be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah: "Here is your God!"
Look — the is coming with power, and his rules for him. Look — his is with him, and his payment goes before him.
He will tend flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in arms and carry them to chest. He will gently lead the nursing mothers.
Who has measured the waters in the of hand? Who has marked off the heavens with the span of fingers? Who has held all the dust of the earth in a basket? Who has weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills on a balance?
Who has directed the of Yahweh? What counselor taught him anything?
Who did he consult to gain understanding? Who taught him the path of justice? Who taught him knowledge or showed him the way of
Look — the are like a drop from a bucket, like dust on a scale. Look — he lifts the like fine powder.
Lebanon's forests would not be enough for fuel, and its animals would not be enough for a burnt offering.
All the nations are before him — he regards them as less than nothing, empty.
So who will you compare God to? What could you set up alongside him?
An A craftsman casts it, a metalworker overlays it with gold and welds silver chains for it.
The one too poor for that offering chooses wood that rot and finds a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that
Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Hasn't it been told to you from the beginning? Haven't you understood since the earth's were laid?
He sits enthroned above the of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
He reduces to nothing. He makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem barely takes root in the ground — then he blows on them and they dry up, and the storm carries them off like
"So who will you compare me to? Who is my equal?" says the who is no other.
Lift up your eyes to the sky and look: Who created all these? He leads out their by number, calling each one by name. Because of his great strength and overwhelming power, not one is missing.
Why do you say, — why do you claim, Israel — "My is hidden from Yahweh. My cause is ignored by my God"?
Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Yahweh is the God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn't grow tired or weary. His is beyond anyone's reach.
He gives to the tired and increases the power of the weak.
Even grow tired and weary. Even the stumble and fall.
But those who for Yahweh will find strength. They will rise up on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not grow tired.