156 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
156 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
God's People Comforted
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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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and announce to her
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that her time of hard service is over,
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her iniquity has been pardoned,
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and she has received from the Lord's hand
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double
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for all her sins."
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3. A voice of one crying out:
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Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness;
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make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
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4. Every valley will be lifted up,
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and every mountain and hill will be leveled;
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the uneven ground will become smooth
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and the rough places, a plain.
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5. And the glory of the Lord will appear,
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and all humanity together will see it,
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for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
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6. A voice was saying, "Cry out!"
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Another said, "What should I cry out?"
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"All humanity is grass,
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and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.
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7. The grass withers, the flowers fade
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when the breath of the Lord blows on them;
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indeed, the people are grass.
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8. The grass withers, the flowers fade,
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but the word of our God remains forever."
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9. Zion, herald of good news,
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go up on a high mountain.
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Jerusalem, herald of good news,
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raise your voice loudly.
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Raise it, do not be afraid!
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Say to the cities of Judah,
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"Here is your God!"
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10. See, the Lord God comes with strength,
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and his power establishes his rule.
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His wages are with him,
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and his reward accompanies him.
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11. He protects his flock like a shepherd;
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he gathers the lambs in his arms
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and carries them in the fold of his garment.
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He gently leads those that are nursing.
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12. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
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or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?
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Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure
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or weighed the mountains on a balance
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and the hills on the scales?
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13. Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
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or who gave him counsel?
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14. Who did he consult?
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Who gave him understanding
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and taught him the paths of justice?
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Who taught him knowledge
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and showed him the way of understanding?
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15. Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
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they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;
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he lifts up the islands like fine dust.
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16. Lebanon's cedars are not enough for fuel,
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or its animals enough for a burnt offering.
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17. All the nations are as nothing before him;
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they are considered by him
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as empty nothingness.
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18. With whom will you compare God?
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What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?
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19. An idol?--something that a smelter casts
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and a metalworker plates with gold
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and makes silver chains for?
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20. A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal
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that will not rot.
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He looks for a skilled craftsman
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to set up an idol that will not fall over.
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21. Do you not know?
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Have you not heard?
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Has it not been declared to you
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from the beginning?
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Have you not considered
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the foundations of the earth?
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22. God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
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its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
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He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth
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and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
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23. He reduces princes to nothing
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and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.
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24. They are barely planted, barely sown,
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their stem hardly takes root in the ground
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when he blows on them and they wither,
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and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.
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25. "To whom will you compare me,
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or who is my equal?" asks the Holy One.
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26. Look up and see!
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Who created these?
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He brings out the stars by number;
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he calls all of them by name.
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Because of his great power and strength,
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not one of them is missing.
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27. Jacob, why do you say,
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and Israel, why do you assert,
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"My way is hidden from the Lord,
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and my claim is ignored by my God"?
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28. Do you not know?
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Have you not heard?
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The Lord is the everlasting God,
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the Creator of the whole earth.
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He never becomes faint or weary;
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there is no limit to his understanding.
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29. He gives strength to the faint
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and strengthens the powerless.
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30. Youths may become faint and weary,
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and young men stumble and fall,
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31. but those who trust in the Lord
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will renew their strength;
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they will soar on wings like eagles;
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they will run and not become weary,
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they will walk and not faint.
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