上帝对祂子民的安慰
1你们的上帝说：
“你们要安慰安慰我的子民。
2要劝慰耶路撒冷，
向她宣告，她的苦难已经结束，
她的罪恶已经被除去。
她因自己的一切罪已受到耶和华加倍的惩罚40:2 “她因自己的一切罪已受到耶和华加倍的惩罚”或译“她的一切罪已得到耶和华双倍的赦免”。。”
3有人高喊：
“在旷野预备耶和华的道，
在沙漠修直我们上帝的路。
4一切山谷要被填满，
大山小丘要被削平；
坎坷之地要变得平坦，
崎岖之地要成为平原。
5耶和华的荣耀必彰显，
世人必一同看见。
这是耶和华亲口说的。”
6有声音说：“呼喊吧！”
我问道：“我呼喊什么呢？”
那声音说：“芸芸众生尽如草，
荣华纷缛像野地的花。
7耶和华吹一口气，
草就枯干，花也凋谢。
人类诚然如草。
8草必枯干，花必凋谢，
唯有我们上帝的话永远长存。”
9报好消息的锡安啊，
要登上高山！
报好消息的耶路撒冷啊，
要大声宣告！
要高声说，不要害怕！
要对犹大的城邑说：
“你们的上帝来了！”
10看啊，主耶和华带着能力来了，
祂的臂膀执掌王权；
看啊，祂带着赏赐而来，
要酬劳祂的子民。
11祂像牧人一样牧养自己的羊群，
用臂膀把羊羔聚在一起，
抱在怀中，
温柔地引导母羊。
12谁曾用手心量海水？
谁曾用手掌度苍天？
谁曾用升斗盛大地的尘土？
谁曾用秤称高山，用天平称丘陵？
13谁曾测度耶和华的心？
谁曾做祂的谋士指点祂？
14祂受过谁的点悟？
谁教过祂公正之道？
谁教过祂知识？
谁传授过祂悟性之道？
15看啊，列国就像水桶中的一滴水，
又如天平上的尘埃。
看啊，祂举起众海岛，好像捧起微尘。
16黎巴嫩的树木不够作献祭的柴，
它林中的走兽也不够作燔祭。
17万国在祂面前都不算什么，
在祂看来还不如虚无。
18你们拿谁与上帝相比呢？
你们用什么形象比作上帝呢？
19偶像是工匠制造的，
金匠替它镶金、打造银链。
20买不起这种偶像的人就选一块耐用的木头，
找个能工巧匠，
雕出一个可以站立不倒的偶像。
21难道你们不知道吗？
难道你们没有听过吗？
难道不是从起初就告诉过你们吗？
难道从大地奠立根基以来，
你们一直没有明白吗？
22上帝坐在大地的圆圈之上，
地上的人类好像蚱蜢。
祂铺展诸天，就像铺展幔子；
展开诸天，如展开居住的帐篷。
23祂使掌权者归于无有，
使世上的审判官化为虚无。
24他们刚被栽上，
刚被种上，
刚在土里扎根，
上帝一吹，他们便枯干了，
暴风将他们像碎秸一样吹去。
25圣者说：“你们拿谁与我相比，
使之与我同等呢？”
26你们向天举目，
看看是谁创造了这万象？
是谁把众星一一领出来，
按各自的名字叫它们？
祂的权柄和能力伟大无比，
它们一个也不会少。
27雅各啊，你怎能说耶和华看不见你的遭遇呢？
以色列啊，你怎能说上帝无视你的冤情呢？
28难道你不知道？
难道你没有听见过？
耶和华是永恒的上帝，是创造地极的主宰。
祂不会疲乏，也不会困倦，
祂的智慧深不可测。
29祂赐疲乏的人能力，
给软弱的人加力量。
30即使青年也会疲乏困倦，
强壮的人也会踉跄跌倒；
31但仰望耶和华的人必重新得力。
他们必像鹰一样展翅高飞，
他们奔跑也不困倦，
他们行走也不疲乏。
Comfort for God’s People
1Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God
4Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
9You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13Who can fathom the Spirit40:13 Or mind of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
14Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18With whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
19As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.
21Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
27Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
