401 " Comfort , O comfort My people ," says your God . 2 " Speak kindly to Jerusalem ; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended , That her iniquity has been removed , That she has received of the Lord'S hand Double for all her sins ."
3 A voice is calling , " Clear the way for the Lord 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 the Lord will be revealed , And all flesh will see it together ; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken ." 6 A voice says , "Call out." Then he answered , "What shall I call out?" All flesh is grass , and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field . 7 The grass withers , the flower fades , When the breath of the Lord 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 , Lift up your voice mightily , O Jerusalem , bearer of good news ; Lift it up, do not fear . Say to the cities of Judah , " Here is your God !" 10 Behold , the Lord GOD will come with might , With His arm ruling for Him. Behold , His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him. 11 Like a shepherd He will tend 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 marked off 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 directed the Spirit of the Lord , Or as His counselor e has informed Him? 14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding ? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding ? 15 Behold , the nations are like a drop from a bucket , And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales ; Behold , He lifts up the islands 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 regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless .
18 To whom then will you liken God ? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? 19 As for the idol , a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold , And a silversmith fashions chains of silver . 20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a tree that does not rot ; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that will not totter . 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 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 He it is who reduces rulers to nothing , Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless . 24 Scarcely e have they been planted , Scarcely e have they been sown , Scarcely e has their stock 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 might 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 the Lord , And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God "? 28 Do you not know ? Have you not heard ? The Everlasting God , the Lord , the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired . His understanding is inscrutable e . 29 He gives strength to the weary , And to him who lacks might He increases power . 30 Though youths grow weary and tired , And vigorous young men stumble badly , 31 Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength ; They will mount up with wings like eagles , They will run and not get tired , They will walk and not become weary .
31 For behold , the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support , the whole supply of bread And the whole supply of water ; 2 The mighty man and the warrior , The judge and the prophet , The diviner and the elder , 3 The captain of fifty and the honorable e man, The counselor and the expert artisan , And the skillful enchanter . 4 And I will make mere lads their princes , And capricious children will rule over them, 5 And the people will be oppressed , Each one by another , and each one by his neighbor ; The youth will storm against the elder And the inferior against the honorable . 6 When a man lays hold of his brother in his father's house , saying, "You have a cloak , you shall be our ruler , And these ruins will be under your charge ," 7 He will protest on that day , saying , "I will not be your healer , For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak ; You should not appoint me ruler of the people ." 8 For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen , Because their speech and their actions are against the Lord , To rebel against His glorious presence .
9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them, And they display their sin like Sodom ; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. 10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions . 11 Woe to the wicked ! It will go badly with him, For what e he deserves e will be done to him. 12 O My people ! Their oppressors are children , And women rule over them. O My people ! Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths . 13 The Lord arises to contend , And stands to judge the people . 14 The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people , "It is you who have devoured the vineyard ; The plunder of the poor is in your houses . 15 "What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the face of the poor ?" Declares the Lord GOD of hosts .
16 Moreover, the Lord said , "Because e the daughters of Zion are proud And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes , And go along with mincing steps And tinkle the bangles on their feet , 17 Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs , And the Lord will make their foreheads bare ." 18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets , headbands , crescent ornaments , 19 dangling earrings , bracelets , veils , 20 headdresses , ankle chains , sashes , perfume e boxes , amulets , 21 finger rings , nose rings , 22 festal robes , outer tunics , cloaks , money purses , 23 hand mirrors , undergarments , turbans and veils . 24 Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction ; Instead of a belt , a rope ; Instead of well-set hair , a plucked-out scalp ; Instead of fine clothes , a donning of sackcloth ; And branding instead of beauty . 25 Your men will fall by the sword And your mighty ones in battle . 26 And her gates will lament and mourn , And deserted she will sit on the ground .
