Isaiah 40 – NIV & CCBT

New International Version

Isaiah 40:1-31

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.

Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)

以賽亞書 40:1-31

上帝對祂子民的安慰

1你們的上帝說:

「你們要安慰我的子民。

2要溫柔地告訴耶路撒冷

她的苦難已經結束,

她的罪惡已經被除去。

她因自己的一切罪已受到耶和華加倍的懲罰40·2 她因自己的一切罪已受到耶和華加倍的懲罰」或譯「她的一切罪已得到耶和華雙倍的赦免」。。」

3聽啊,有人高喊:

「在曠野預備耶和華的道,

在沙漠修直我們上帝的路。

4一切山谷將被填滿,

大山小丘將被削平;

坎坷之地將變得平坦,

崎嶇的地面將成為平原。

5耶和華的榮耀必彰顯,

世人必一同看見。

這是耶和華親口說的。」

6有聲音說:「呼喊吧!」

我問道:「我呼喊什麼呢?」

那聲音說:「芸芸眾生盡如草,

榮華富貴像野地的花。

7耶和華吹一口氣,

草就枯乾,花也凋殘。

人類誠然像草。

8草必枯乾,花必凋殘,

唯有我們上帝的話永遠長存。」

9錫安報告好消息的人啊,

要登上高山!

耶路撒冷報告好消息的人啊,

要大聲宣告!

要提高聲音,不要懼怕!

要高聲對猶大的城邑說:

「你們的上帝來了!」

10看啊,主耶和華帶著能力來了,

祂的臂膀執掌王權;

祂帶著賞賜而來,

要酬勞祂的子民。

11祂像牧人一樣牧養自己的羊群,

用臂膀把羊羔聚在一起,

抱在懷中,

溫柔地引導母羊。

12誰曾用手心量海水?

誰曾用手掌度蒼天?

誰曾用升斗盛大地的塵土?

誰曾用秤稱高山,用天平稱丘陵?

13誰曾測度耶和華的心?

誰曾做祂的謀士指點祂?

14祂請教過誰?

誰教過祂正道?

誰教過祂知識?

誰指點過祂領悟之道?

15看啊,列國就像水桶中的一滴水,

又如天平上的塵埃。

祂舉起眾海島,好像捧起微塵。

16黎巴嫩的樹木不夠作獻祭的燃料,

林中的走獸也不夠作燔祭。

17萬國在祂面前都算不得什麼,

在祂看來不過是虛無。

18你們拿誰與上帝相比呢?

你們用什麼形像比作上帝呢?

19偶像是工匠製造的,

銀匠替它包上金子、打造銀鏈。

20買不起這種偶像的人就選一塊耐用的木頭,

找個精巧的工匠,

雕出一個可以站立不倒的偶像。

21難道你們不知道嗎?

難道你們沒有聽過嗎?

難道不是從起初就告訴過你們嗎?

難道從大地奠立根基以來,

你們一直沒有明白嗎?

22上帝的寶座設立在大地的圓圈之上,

地上的人類好像蚱蜢。

祂鋪展諸天,就像鋪展幔子、鋪展人居住的帳篷。

23祂使掌權者歸於無有,

使世上的審判官化為虛無。

24他們像草一樣剛被栽上,

剛被種上,

剛在土裡扎根,

上帝一口氣吹來,便都枯乾了,

暴風將他們像禾稭一樣吹去。

25那位聖者說:「你們拿誰與我相比,

使之與我同等呢?」

26你們向天舉目,

看看是誰創造了這萬象?

是誰把眾星一一領出來,

給它們取名?

祂的權柄和能力極大無比,

它們一個也不會少。

27雅各啊,你怎能說耶和華看不見你的遭遇呢?

以色列啊,你怎能說上帝並不顧念你的冤情呢?

28難道你不知道?

難道你沒有聽見過?

永恆的上帝耶和華——創造地極的主宰不會疲乏也不會困倦,

祂的智慧深不可測。

29祂賜疲乏的人能力,

給軟弱的人力量。

30即使青年也會疲乏困倦,

強壯的人也會踉蹌跌倒;

31但仰望耶和華的人必重新得力。

他們必像鷹一樣展翅高飛,

他們奔跑也不困倦,

他們行走也不疲乏。