The Book of the Prophet Isaiah

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- Chapter 40 -

(Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20; John 1:19–28)

“Be consoled, be consoled, O my people!” says your God.

Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out to her! For her malice has reached its end. Her iniquity has been forgiven. She has received double for all her sins from the hand of the Lord.

The voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight the paths of our God, in a solitary place.

Every valley will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. And the crooked will be straightened, and the uneven will become level ways.

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed. And all flesh together will see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Enduring Word

(1 Peter 1:22–25)

The voice of one saying, “Cry out!” And I said, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.

The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. For the Spirit of the Lord has blown over it. Truly, the people are like grass.

The grass has dried up, and the flower has fallen. But the Word of our Lord remains for eternity.”

Here Is Your God!

(Romans 11:33–36)

You who evangelize Zion, climb a high mountain! You who evangelize Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah: “Behold, your God!”

Behold, the Lord God will arrive in strength, and his arm will rule. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him.

He will pasture his flock like a shepherd. He will gather together the lambs with his arm, and he will lift them up to his bosom, and he himself will carry the very young.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and who has weighed the heavens with his palm? Who has suspended the mass of the earth with three fingers, and who has weighed the mountains on a balance and the hills on a scale?

Who has assisted the Spirit of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor and has revealed things to him?

With whom has he consulted? And who has instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and guided him to knowledge, and revealed the way of understanding to him?

Behold, the nations are like a drop of water in a bucket, and they are considered as the smallest grain on a balance. Behold, the islands are like a little dust.

And Lebanon will not be sufficient to start a fire, and its animals will not be sufficient for a burnt offering.

All the nations in his sight are as if they did not exist, and they are considered by him as if they were nothingness and emptiness.

Therefore, to whom would you liken God? Or with what image would you replace him?

Should the workman cast a statue? Or has the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?

He has chosen strong wood that will not decay. The skillful artisan seeks a way to set up an idol that cannot be moved.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been announced to you from the beginning? Have you not understood the foundations of the earth?

He is the One who sits upon the globe of the earth, and its inhabitants are like locusts. He extends the heavens as if they were nothing, and he spreads them out like a tent, in which to dwell.

He has brought those who examine what is secret to nothingness. He has brought the judges of the earth to emptiness.

And certainly, their stalk was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the ground. He has suddenly blown across them, and they have withered, and a whirlwind will carry them away like chaff.

“And to whom would you compare me or equate me?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things. He leads forth their army by number, and he calls them all by name. Because of the fullness of his strength and robustness and virtue, not one of them was left behind.

Why do you say this, O Jacob, and why do you speak this way, O Israel? “My way has been hidden from the Lord, and my judgment escaped notice by my God.”

Do you not know, or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, who has created the limits of the earth. He does not diminish, and he does not struggle. Neither is his wisdom searchable.

It is he who gives strength to the weary, and it is he who increases fortitude and strength in those who are failing.

Servants will struggle and fail, and young men will fall into infirmity.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.

(Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20; John 1:19–28)

“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.

“Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.”

The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain.

The LORD’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.”

The Enduring Word

(1 Peter 1:22–25)

The voice of one saying, “Cry out!” One said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades, because the LORD’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever.”

Here Is Your God!

(Romans 11:33–36)

You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Don’t be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold, your God!”

Behold, the Lord GOD 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. He will gently lead those who have their young.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measuring basket, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Who has directed the LORD’s Spirit, or has taught him as his counselor?

Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.

Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering.

All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.

To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?

A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.

He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up a carved image for him that will not be moved.

Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth?

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,

who brings princes to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

They are planted scarcely. They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.

“To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.

Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me is disregarded by my God”?

Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might.

Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall;

but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.