Isaiah 40

nakhamu nakhamu ammi yomar elohekhem

Comfort, oh comfort My people, Says your God.

dabberu al-lev yerushalai͏m veqiru eleha ki male'ah tseva'ah ki nirtsah avonah ki laqekhah miyyad Adonai kiflayim bekhol-khattoteha

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, And declare to her That her term of service is over, That her iniquity is expiated; For she has received at GOD’s hand Double for all her sins.

qol qore bammidbar pannu derekh Adonai yasheru ba'aravah mesillah lelohenu

A voice rings out: “Clear in the desert A road for GOD! Level in the wilderness A highway for our God!

kol-ge yinnase vekhol-har vegivah yishpalu vehayah he'aqov lemishor veharekhasim leviqah

Let every valley be raised, Every hill and mount made low. Let the rugged ground become level And the ridges become a plain.

veniglah kevod Adonai vera'u khol-basar yakhdav ki pi Adonai dibber

The Presence of GOD shall appear, And all flesh, as one, shall behold— For GOD has spoken.”

qol omer qera ve'amar mah eqra kol-habbasar khatsir vekhol-khasdo ketsits hassadeh

A voice rings out: “Proclaim!” Another asks, “What shall I proclaim?” “All flesh is grass, All its goodness like flowers of the field:

yavesh khatsir navel-tsits ki ruakh Adonai nashevah bo akhen khatsir ha'am

Grass withers, flowers fade When GOD’s breath blows on them. Indeed, people are but grass:

yavesh khatsir navel tsits udevar-elohenu yaqum le'olam

Grass withers, flowers fade— But the word of our God is always fulfilled!”

al har-gavoah ali-lakh mevasseret tsiyyon harimi vakkoakh qolekh mevasseret yerushalai͏m harimi al-tira'i imri le'are yehudah hinneh elohekhem

Ascend a lofty mountain, O herald of joy to Zion; Raise your voice with power, O herald of joy to Jerusalem— Raise it, have no fear; Announce to the cities of Judah: Behold your God!

hinneh adonay Elohim bekhazaq yavo uzero'o moshelah lo hinneh sekharo itto ufe'ullato lefanayw

Behold, my Sovereign GOD comes in might— Whose arm wins triumph; See, [God] has brought along the reward, The recompense is in view.

kero'eh edro yireh bizro'o yeqabbets tela'im uvekheqo yissa alot yenahel

Like a shepherd who pastures the flock, [God] gathers up the lambs And carries them in an embrace, While gently driving the mother sheep.

mi-madad besho'olo mayim veshamayim bazzeret tikken vekhol bashalish afar ha'arets veshaqal bappeles harim ugeva'ot bemozenayim

Who measured the waters with a hand’s hollow, And gauged the skies with a span, And meted earth’s dust with a measure, And weighed the mountains with a scale And the hills with a balance?

mi-tikken et-ruakh Adonai ve'ish atsato yodi'ennu

Who has plumbed the mind of GOD? Can anyone disclose God’s plan?

et-mi no'ats vayevinehu vayelammedehu be'orakh mishpat vayelammedehu da'at vederekh tevunot yodi'ennu

Whom did [God] consult, and who bestowed understanding, Providing guidance in the way of right? Who guided [God] in knowledge And made known the path of wisdom?

hen goyim kemar middeli ukheshakhaq mozenayim nekhshavu hen iyyim kaddaq yittol

The nations are but a drop in a bucket, Reckoned as dust on a balance; The very coastlands are lifted like motes.

ulevanon en de ba'er vekhayyato en de olah

Lebanon is not fuel enough, Nor its beasts enough for sacrifice.

kol-haggoyim ke'ayin negdo me'efes vatohu nekhshevu-lo

All nations are as naught in God’s sight, Who accounts them as less than nothing.

ve'el-mi tedammeyun el umah-ddemut ta'arkhu lo

To whom, then, can you liken God, With what form can you make comparison?

happesel nasakh kharash vetsoref bazzahav yeraqqe'ennu uretuqot kesef tsoref

The idol? A woodworker shaped it, And a smith overlaid it with gold, Forging links of silver.

hamesukkan terumah ets lo-yirqav yivkhar kharash khakham yevaqqesh-lo lehakhin pesel lo yimmot

As a gift, someone chooses the mulberry— A wood that does not rot— Then seeks a skillful woodworker To make a firm idol, That will not topple.

halo tede'u halo tishma'u halo huggad merosh lakhem halo havinotem mosedot ha'arets

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Have you not been told From the very first? Have you not discerned How the earth was founded?

hayyoshev al-khug ha'arets veyosheveha kakhagavim hannoteh khaddoq shamayim vayyimtakhem ka'ohel lashavet

It is [God] who is enthroned above the vault of the earth, So that its inhabitants seem as grasshoppers; Who spread out the skies like gauze, Stretched them out like a tent to dwell in—

hannoten rozenim le'ayin shofete erets kattohu asah

Bringing potentates to naught, Making rulers of the earth as nothing.

af bal-nitta'u af bal-zora'u af bal-shoresh ba'arets gizam vegam-nashaf bahem vayyivashu use'arah kaqqash tissa'em

Hardly are they planted, Hardly are they sown, Hardly has their stem Taken root in earth, When [God] blows upon them and they dry up, And the storm bears them off like straw.

ve'el-mi tedammeyuni ve'eshveh yomar qadosh

To whom, then, can you liken Me, To whom can I be compared? —says the Holy One.

se'u-marom enekhem ure'u mi-vara elleh hammotsi vemispar tseva'am lekhullam beshem yiqra merov onim ve'ammits koakh ish lo nedar

Lift high your eyes and see: Who created these? The One who sends out their host by count, Who calls them each by name: Given such great might and vast power, Not one fails to appear.

lammah tomar ya'aqov utedabber yisra'el nisterah darki me-Adonai ume'elohay mishpati ya'avor

Why do you say, O Jacob, Why declare, O Israel, “My way is hid from GOD, My cause is ignored by my God”?

halo yadata im-lo shamata elohe olam Adonai bore qetsot ha'arets lo yi'af velo yiga en kheqer litvunato

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The ETERNAL is God from of old, Creator of the earth from end to end, Who never grows faint or weary, Whose wisdom cannot be fathomed—

noten layya'ef koakh ule'en onim otsmah yarbeh

Who gives strength to the weary, Fresh vigor to the spent.

veyi'afu ne'arim veyiga'u uvakhurim kashol yikkashelu

Youths may grow faint and weary, And young men stumble and fall;

veqoye Adonai yakhalifu khoakh ya'alu ever kannesharim yarutsu velo yiga'u yelekhu velo yi'afu

But they who trust in GOD shall renew their strength As eagles grow new plumes: They shall run and not grow weary, They shall march and not grow faint.