2. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.Tell her that her sad days are goneand her sins are pardoned.Yes, the lord has punished her twice overfor all her sins.”
3. Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,“Clear the way through the wildernessfor the lord!Make a straight highway through the wastelandfor our God!
4. Fill in the valleys,and level the mountains and hills.Straighten the curves,and smooth out the rough places.
5. Then the glory of the lord will be revealed,and all people will see it together.The lord has spoken!”
6. A voice said, “Shout!”I asked, “What should I shout?”“Shout that people are like the grass.Their beauty fades as quicklyas the flowers in a field.
7. The grass withers and the flowers fadebeneath the breath of the lord.And so it is with people.
8. The grass withers and the flowers fade,but the word of our God stands forever.”
9. O Zion, messenger of good news,shout from the mountaintops!Shout it louder, O Jerusalem.Shout, and do not be afraid.Tell the towns of Judah,“Your God is coming!”
10. Yes, the Sovereign lord is coming in power.He will rule with a powerful arm.See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.
11. He will feed his flock like a shepherd.He will carry the lambs in his arms,holding them close to his heart.He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
12. Who else has held the oceans in his hand?Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?Who else knows the weight of the earthor has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13. Who is able to advise the Spirit of the lord?Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14. Has the lord ever needed anyone’s advice?Does he need instruction about what is good?Did someone teach him what is rightor show him the path of justice?
15. No, for all the nations of the worldare but a drop in the bucket.They are nothing morethan dust on the scales.He picks up the whole earthas though it were a grain of sand.
16. All the wood in Lebanon’s forestsand all Lebanon’s animals would not be enoughto make a burnt offering worthy of our God.
17. The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.In his eyes they count for less than nothing—mere emptiness and froth.
18. To whom can you compare God?What image can you find to resemble him?
19. Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?