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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Isaiah 40 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/isaiah/40.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/isaiah/40-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > Isaiah 40</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../isaiah/39.htm" title="Isaiah 39">◄</a> Isaiah 40 <a href="../isaiah/41.htm" title="Isaiah 41">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/isaiah/40.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">Comfort for God’s People</p><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>“Comfort, comfort my people,”</p><p class="line2">says your God.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.</p><p class="line1">Tell her that her sad days are gone</p><p class="line2">and her sins are pardoned.</p><p class="line1">Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over</p><p class="line2">for all her sins.”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,</p><p class="line1">“Clear the way through the wilderness</p><p class="line2">for the LORD!</p><p class="line1">Make a straight highway through the wasteland</p><p class="line2">for our God!</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Fill in the valleys,</p><p class="line2">and level the mountains and hills.</p><p class="line1">Straighten the curves,</p><p class="line2">and smooth out the rough places.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,</p><p class="line2">and all people will see it together.</p><p class="line2">The LORD has spoken!”<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a></p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>A voice said, “Shout!”</p><p class="line2">I asked, “What should I shout?”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1">“Shout that people are like the grass.</p><p class="line2">Their beauty fades as quickly</p><p class="line2">as the flowers in a field.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>The grass withers and the flowers fade</p><p class="line2">beneath the breath of the LORD.</p><p class="line2">And so it is with people.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>The grass withers and the flowers fade,</p><p class="line2">but the word of our God stands forever.”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>O Zion, messenger of good news,</p><p class="line2">shout from the mountaintops!</p><p class="line1">Shout it louder, O Jerusalem.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a></p><p class="line2">Shout, and do not be afraid.</p><p class="line1">Tell the towns of Judah,</p><p class="line2">“Your God is coming!”</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power.</p><p class="line2">He will rule with a powerful arm.</p><p class="line2">See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>He will feed his flock like a shepherd.</p><p class="line2">He will carry the lambs in his arms,</p><p class="line1">holding them close to his heart.</p><p class="line2">He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.</p><p class="hdg">The LORD Has No Equal</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Who else has held the oceans in his hand?</p><p class="line2">Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?</p><p class="line1">Who else knows the weight of the earth</p><p class="line2">or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD?<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a></p><p class="line2">Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>Has the LORD ever needed anyone’s advice?</p><p class="line2">Does he need instruction about what is good?</p><p class="line1">Did someone teach him what is right</p><p class="line2">or show him the path of justice?</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>No, for all the nations of the world</p><p class="line2">are but a drop in the bucket.</p><p class="line1">They are nothing more</p><p class="line2">than dust on the scales.</p><p class="line1">He picks up the whole earth</p><p class="line2">as though it were a grain of sand.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>All the wood in Lebanon’s forests</p><p class="line2">and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough</p><p class="line2">to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.</p><p class="line2">In his eyes they count for less than nothing—</p><p class="line2">mere emptiness and froth.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>To whom can you compare God?</p><p class="line2">What image can you find to resemble him?</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,</p><p class="line2">overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Or if people are too poor for that,</p><p class="line2">they might at least choose wood that won’t decay</p><p class="line1">and a skilled craftsman</p><p class="line2">to carve an image that won’t fall down!</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand?</p><p class="line2">Are you deaf to the words of God—</p><p class="line1">the words he gave before the world began?</p><p class="line2">Are you so ignorant?</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>God sits above the circle of the earth.</p><p class="line2">The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!</p><p class="line1">He spreads out the heavens like a curtain</p><p class="line2">and makes his tent from them.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>He judges the great people of the world</p><p class="line2">and brings them all to nothing.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>They hardly get started, barely taking root,</p><p class="line2">when he blows on them and they wither.</p><p class="line2">The wind carries them off like chaff.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>“To whom will you compare me?</p><p class="line2">Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Look up into the heavens.</p><p class="line2">Who created all the stars?</p><p class="line1">He brings them out like an army, one after another,</p><p class="line2">calling each by its name.</p><p class="line1">Because of his great power and incomparable strength,</p><p class="line2">not a single one is missing.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles?</p><p class="line2">O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>Have you never heard?</p><p class="line2">Have you never understood?</p><p class="line1">The LORD is the everlasting God,</p><p class="line2">the Creator of all the earth.</p><p class="line1">He never grows weak or weary.</p><p class="line2">No one can measure the depths of his understanding.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>He gives power to the weak</p><p class="line2">and strength to the powerless.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>Even youths will become weak and tired,</p><p class="line2">and young men will fall in exhaustion.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength.</p><p class="line2">They will soar high on wings like eagles.</p><p class="line1">They will run and not grow weary.</p><p class="line2">They will walk and not faint.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">40:3-5 </span><span class="ft">Greek version reads </span><span class="it">He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, / “Prepare the way for the </span><span class="sc"><span class="it">Lord</span></span><span class="it">’s coming! / Clear a road for our God! / Fill in the valleys, / and level the mountains and hills. / And then the glory of the </span><span class="sc"><span class="it">Lord</span></span><span class="it"> will be revealed, / and all people will see the salvation sent from God. / The </span><span class="sc"><span class="it">Lord</span></span><span class="it"> has spoken!”</span><span class="ft"> Compare Matt 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-6.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">40:9 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">O messenger of good news, shout to Zion from the mountaintops! Shout it louder to Jerusalem.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">40:13 </span><span class="ft">Greek version reads </span><span class="it">Who can know the </span><span class="sc"><span class="it">Lord</span></span><span class="it">’s thoughts?</span><span class="ft"> Compare Rom 11:34; 1 Cor 2:16.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of <a href="http://www.tyndale.com">Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.</a>, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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