The LORD's Comforting Words to Zion

401 Give comfort, give comfort, to my people, says your God. 2 Say kind words to the heart of Jerusalem, crying out to her that her time of trouble is ended, that her punishment is complete; that she has been rewarded by the Lord's hand twice over for all her sins.

3 A voice of one crying, Make ready in the waste land the way of the Lord, make level in the lowland a highway for our God. 4 Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough places become level, and the hilltops become a valley, 5 And the glory of the Lord will be made clear, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has said it. 6 A voice of one saying, Give a cry! And I said, What is my cry to be? All flesh is grass, and all its strength like the flower of the field. 7 The grass becomes dry, the flower is dead; because the breath of the Lord goes over it: truly the people is grass. 8 The grass is dry, the flower is dead; but the word of our God is eternal.

9 You who give good news to Zion, get up into the high mountain; you who give good news to Jerusalem, let your voice be strong; let it be sounding without fear; say to the towns of Judah, See, your God! 10 See, the Lord God will come as a strong one, ruling in power: see, those made free by him are with him, and those whom he has made safe go before him. 11 He will give food to his flock like a keeper of sheep; with his arm he will get it together, and will take up the lambs on his breast, gently guiding those which are with young.

Israel's Incomparable God

12 In the hollow of whose hand have the waters been measured? and who is able to take the heavens in his stretched-out fingers? who has got together the dust of the earth in a measure? who has taken the weight of the mountains, or put the hills into the scales? 13 By whom has the spirit of the Lord been guided, or who has been his teacher? 14 Who gave him suggestions, and made clear to him the right way? who gave him knowledge, guiding him in the way of wisdom? 15 See, the nations are to him like a drop hanging from a bucket, and like the small dust in the scales: he takes up the islands like small dust. 16 And Lebanon is not enough to make a fire with, or all its cattle enough for a burned offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him; even less than nothing, a thing of no value.

18 Whom then is God like, in your opinion? or what will you put forward as a comparison with him? 19 The workman makes an image, and the gold-worker puts gold plates over it, and makes silver bands for it. 20 The wise workman makes selection of the mulberry-tree of the offering, a wood which will not become soft; so that the image may be fixed to it and not be moved. 21 Have you no knowledge of it? has it not come to your ears? has not news of it been given to you from the first? has it not been clear to you from the time when the earth was placed on its base? 22 It is he who is seated over the arch of the earth, and the people in it are as small as locusts; by him the heavens are stretched out like an arch, and made ready like a tent for a living-place. 23 He makes rulers come to nothing; the judges of the earth are of no value. 24 They have only now been planted, and their seed put into the earth, and they have only now taken root, when he sends out his breath over them and they become dry, and the storm-wind takes them away like dry grass. 25 Who then seems to you to be my equal? says the Holy One. 26 Let your eyes be lifted up on high, and see: who has made these? He who sends out their numbered army: who has knowledge of all their names: by whose great strength, because he is strong in power, all of them are in their places.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob, such words as these, O Israel, The Lord's eyes are not on my way, and my God gives no attention to my cause? 28 Have you no knowledge of it? has it not come to your ears? The eternal God, the Lord, the Maker of the ends of the earth, is never feeble or tired; there is no searching out of his wisdom. 29 He gives power to the feeble, increasing the strength of him who has no force. 30 Even the young men will become feeble and tired, and the best of them will come to the end of his strength; 31 But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness.

The LORD's Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

31 For the Lord, the Lord of armies, is about to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah all their support; their store of bread and of water; 2 The strong man and the man of war; the judge and the prophet; the man who has knowledge of secret arts, and the man who is wise because of his years; 3 The captain of fifty, and the man of high position, and the wise guide, and the wonder-worker, and he who makes use of secret powers. 4 And I will make children their chiefs, and foolish ones will have rule over them. 5 And the people will be crushed, every one by his neighbour; the young will be full of pride against the old, and those of low position will be lifted up against the noble. 6 When one man puts his hand on another in his father's house, and says, You have clothing, be our ruler and be responsible for us in our sad condition: 7 Then he will say with an oath, I will not be a helper, for in my house there is no bread or clothing: I will not let you make me a ruler of the people. 8 For Jerusalem has become feeble, and destruction has come on Judah, because their words and their acts are against the Lord, moving the eyes of his glory to wrath.

9 Their respect for a man's position is a witness against them; and their sin is open to the view of all; like that of Sodom, it is not covered. A curse on their soul! for the measure of their sin is full. 10 Happy is the upright man! for he will have joy of the fruit of his ways. 11 Unhappy is the sinner! for the reward of his evil doings will come on him. 12 As for my people, their ruler is acting like a child, and those who have authority over them are women. O my people, your guides are the cause of your wandering, turning your footsteps out of the right way. 13 The Lord is ready to take up his cause against his people, and is about to come forward as their judge. 14 The Lord comes to be the judge of their responsible men and of their rulers: it is you who have made waste the vine-garden, and in your houses is the property of the poor which you have taken by force. 15 By what right are you crushing my people, and putting a bitter yoke on the necks of the poor? This is the word of the Lord, the Lord of armies.

Judgment on the Daughters of Zion

16 Again, the Lord has said, Because the daughters of Zion are full of pride, and go with outstretched necks and wandering eyes, with their foot-chains sounding when they go: 17 The Lord will send disease on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will let their secret parts be seen. 18 In that day the Lord will take away the glory of their foot-rings, and their sun-jewels, and their moon-ornaments, 19 The ear-rings, and the chains, and the delicate clothing, 20 The head-bands, and the arm-chains, and the worked bands, and the perfume-boxes, and the jewels with secret powers, 21 The rings, and the nose-jewels, 22 The feast-day dresses, and the robes, and the wide skirts, and the handbags, 23 The looking-glasses, and the fair linen, and the high head-dresses, and the veils. 24 And in the place of sweet spices will be an evil smell, and for a fair band a thick cord; for a well-dressed head there will be the cutting-off of the hair, and for a beautiful robe there will be the clothing of sorrow; the mark of the prisoner in place of the ornaments of the free. 25 Your men will be put to the sword, and your men of war will come to destruction in the fight. 26 And in the public places of her towns will be sorrow and weeping; and she will be seated on the earth, waste and uncovered.