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145 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
145 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
Comfort for God's People
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# Chapter 40
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1. "Comfort, comfort my people,"
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says your God.
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2. "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
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Tell her that her sad days are gone
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and her sins are pardoned.
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Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over
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for all her sins."
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3. Listen! It's the voice of someone shouting,
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"Clear the way through the wilderness
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for the LORD!
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Make a straight highway through the wasteland
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for our God!
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4. Fill in the valleys,
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and level the mountains and hills.
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Straighten the curves,
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and smooth out the rough places.
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5. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
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and all people will see it together.
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The LORD has spoken!"
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6. A voice said, "Shout!"
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I asked, "What should I shout?"
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"Shout that people are like the grass.
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Their beauty fades as quickly
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as the flowers in a field.
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7. The grass withers and the flowers fade
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beneath the breath of the LORD.
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And so it is with people.
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8. The grass withers and the flowers fade,
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but the word of our God stands forever."
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9. O Zion, messenger of good news,
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shout from the mountaintops!
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Shout it louder, O Jerusalem.
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Shout, and do not be afraid.
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Tell the towns of Judah,
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"Your God is coming!"
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10. Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power.
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He will rule with a powerful arm.
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See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.
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11. He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
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He will carry the lambs in his arms,
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holding them close to his heart.
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He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.The LORD Has No Equal
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12. Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
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Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
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Who else knows the weight of the earth
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or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
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13. Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD?
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Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
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14. Has the LORD ever needed anyone's advice?
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Does he need instruction about what is good?
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Did someone teach him what is right
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or show him the path of justice?
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15. No, for all the nations of the world
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are but a drop in the bucket.
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They are nothing more
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than dust on the scales.
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He picks up the whole earth
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as though it were a grain of sand.
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16. All the wood in Lebanon's forests
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and all Lebanon's animals would not be enough
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to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.
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17. The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.
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In his eyes they count for less than nothing--
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mere emptiness and froth.
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18. To whom can you compare God?
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What image can you find to resemble him?
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19. Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,
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overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
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20. Or if people are too poor for that,
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they might at least choose wood that won't decay
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and a skilled craftsman
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to carve an image that won't fall down!
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21. Haven't you heard? Don't you understand?
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Are you deaf to the words of God--
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the words he gave before the world began?
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Are you so ignorant?
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22. God sits above the circle of the earth.
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The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
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He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
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and makes his tent from them.
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23. He judges the great people of the world
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and brings them all to nothing.
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24. They hardly get started, barely taking root,
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when he blows on them and they wither.
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The wind carries them off like chaff.
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25. "To whom will you compare me?
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Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One.
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26. Look up into the heavens.
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Who created all the stars?
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He brings them out like an army, one after another,
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calling each by its name.
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Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
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not a single one is missing.
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27. O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles?
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O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
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28. Have you never heard?
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Have you never understood?
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The LORD is the everlasting God,
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the Creator of all the earth.
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He never grows weak or weary.
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No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
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29. He gives power to the weak
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and strength to the powerless.
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30. Even youths will become weak and tired,
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and young men will fall in exhaustion.
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31. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength.
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They will soar high on wings like eagles.
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They will run and not grow weary.
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They will walk and not faint.
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