1 Be comforted, be comforted my people, saith your God.
1 Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God.
2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: because her malice is accomplished, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of our Lord double for all her sins.
2 Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: ¹she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.
3 The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way of our Lord, make straight the paths of our God in the wilderness.
3 ²The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and little hill shall be humbled, and crooked things shall become straight, and rough ways, plain.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain.
5 And the glory of our Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, the mouth of our Lord hath spoken.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.
6 The voice of one saying: Cry. And I said: What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field.
6 The voice of one, saying: Cry. And I said: What shall I cry? ³All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field.
7 The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen, because the spirit of our Lord hath blown on it. Indeed the people is grass:
7 The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen, because the spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Indeed the people is grass:
8 the grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord abideth for ever.
8 The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth forever.
9 Upon an high mountain get thee up, thou that evangelizest to Sion: exalt the voice in strength, which evangelizest to Jerusalem: exalt it, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:
9 Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:
10 behold our Lord God shall come in strength, & his arm shall have dominion: behold his reward is with him, and his work before him.
10 Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.
11 As a shepherd shall he feed his flock: in his arm shall he gather together the lambs, and in his bosom shall he lift them up, and them with young himself shall carry.
11 ⁴He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.
12 Who hath measured the waters with his fist, and pondered the heavens with a span? Who hath poised with three fingers the huge greatness of the earth, & weighed the mountains in weight, and the little hills in balance?
12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm? Who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13 Who hath holpen the spirit of our Lord? Or who hath been his counseller, & shewed to him?
13 ⁵Who hath forwarded the spirit of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor, and hath taught him?
14 With whom hath he taken counsel, and who hath instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of prudence?
14 With whom hath he consulted, and who hath instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are reputed as the moment of a balance: behold the islands are as a little dust.
15 Behold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a balance: behold the islands are as a little dust.
16 And Libanus shall not suffice to kindle the fire, and the beasts thereof shall not be sufficient for holocaust.
16 And Libanus shall not be enough to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations as if they were not, so are they before him, and they are reputed of him as nothing, and a vain thing.
17 All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to him as nothing, and vanity.
18 To whom then have you made God like? Or what image will you set to him?
18 ⁶To whom then have you likened God? Or what image will you make for him?
19 Hath the artificer cast a sculptile? or hath the goldsmith figured it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?
19 Hath the workman cast a graven statue? Or hath the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?
20 Strong wood, and that which will not putrefy hath he chosen: the wise artificer seeketh how he may set up a sculptile which may not be moved.
20 He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot: the skilful workman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.
21 Why, do you not know: why, have you not heard? Why, hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood the foundations of the earth?
21 Do you not know? Hath it not been heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood the foundations of the earth?
22 He that sitteth upon the compass of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them as a tent to dwell in.
22 It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: ⁷he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.
23 He that maketh the searchers of secrets as if they were not, that hath made the judges of the earth as a vain thing:
23 He that bringeth the searchers of secrets to nothing, that hath made the judges of the earth as vanity.
24 and indeed their stock was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the earth: suddenly he hath blown upon them, and they have withered, and a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
24 And surely their stock was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the earth: suddenly he hath blown upon them, and they are withered, and a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
25 And to whom have ye likened me, and made me equal? Saith the holy one.
25 And to whom have ye likened me, or made me equal, saith the Holy One?
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things: he that bringeth out the host of them in number, and calleth them all by name: by the multitude of his force and strength, & power, not one of them was missing.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things: who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by their names: by the greatness of his might, and strength, and power, not one of them was missing.
27 Why sayest thou Jacob, and speakest thou Israel: My way is hid from our Lord, and my judgement is passed over of my God?
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28 Why knowest thou not, or hast thou not heard? Our Lord is God everlasting, which hath created the ends of the earth: he shall not fail, nor labour, neither is there searching out of his wisdom.
28 Knowest thou not, or hast thou not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, who hath created the ends of the earth: he shall not faint, nor labor, neither is there any searching out of his wisdom.
29 Which giveth strength to the weary: and to them that are not, multiplieth force and strength.
29 It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force and might to them that are not.
30 Children shall faint, and labour, and youngmen shall fall by infirmity.
30 Youths shall faint, and labor, and young men shall fall by infirmity.
31 But they that hope in our Lord shall change their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not labour, they shall walk and not faint.
31 But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, ⁸they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.