Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye {Hebrew: to the heart of.}comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her {Or, time of service}warfare is accomplished, that her {Or, punishment is accepted See Leviticus 26:43.}iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.
The voice of one {Or, that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way &c.}that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain:
and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.
{Or, O Zion, that bringest good tidings}O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; {Or, O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings}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!
Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young.
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?
Who hath {Or, meted out}directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: behold, {Or, the isles are as the fine dust that is lifted up}he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as {Or, as a thing of nought}less than nothing, and {Or, confusion}vanity.
To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains.
He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to {Or, prepare}set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not {Or, understood the foundations}understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as {Or, gauze}a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
that bringeth princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earth as {Or, confusion}vanity.
{Or, Scarce are they planted, scarce are they sown, scarce hath their stock taken root in the earth, when he bloweth upon them &c.}Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.
To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high, {Or, and see: who hath created these? he that &c.}and see who hath created these, 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 is lacking.
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and the justice due to me is passed away from my God?
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? {Or, Jehovah is an everylasting God, the Creator…he fainteth not &c.}The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
but they that wait for Jehovah 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.
Querverweise zu Jesaja 40,22 Jes 40,22
The {Or, oracle concerning}burden of Egypt.Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: behold, {Or, the isles are as the fine dust that is lifted up}he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
Thus saith God Jehovah, he that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; he that spread abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what manner of house will ye build unto me? and what place shall be my rest?
All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as {Or, as a thing of nought}less than nothing, and {Or, confusion}vanity.
Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth ( {Another reading is, by myself.}who is with me?);
He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh:The Lord will have them in derision.
And there we saw the {Or, giants}Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
and hast forgotten Jehovah thy Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and fearest continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, {Or, as though he made ready}when he maketh ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
Jehovah sat as King at the Flood;Yea, Jehovah sitteth as King for ever.
That alone stretcheth out the heavens,And treadeth upon the {Hebrew: high places.}waves of the sea;
To him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which are of old;Lo, he uttereth his voice, a mighty voice.
Canst thou with him spread out the sky,Which is strong as a molten mirror?
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?Declare, {Hebrew: if thou knowest understanding.}if thou hast understanding.
Who determined the measures thereof, {Or, seeing}if thou knowest?Or who stretched the line upon it?
Whereupon were the {Hebrew: sockets.}foundations thereof {Hebrew: made to sink.}fastened?Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
When the morning stars sang together,And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Or who shut up the sea with doors,When it brake forth, {Or, and issued}as if it had issued out of the womb;
When I made clouds the garment thereof,And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,
Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth;And the heavens are the work of thy hands.
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure;Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment;As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment;Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens.
The {Or, oracle}burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel.Thus saith Jehovah, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him:
And, {Psalm 102:25 ff.}Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth,And the heavens are the works of thy hands:
They shall perish; but thou continuest:And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up,As a garment, and they shall be changed:But thou art the same,And thy years shall not fail.