Read the Bible

⁶ A voice was saying, “Cry out!”
Another said,^(F1) “What should I cry out?”
“All humanity is grass,^(C1)
and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.^(C2)7 The grass withers, the flowers fade
when the breath^(F1) of the Lord blows on them;^(F2)
indeed, the people are grass.⁸ The grass withers, the flowers fade,^(C1)
but the word of our God remains forever.”^(C2)

⁹ Zion, herald of good news,
go up on a high mountain.^(C1)
Jerusalem, herald of good news,^(C2)
raise your voice loudly.
Raise it, do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!” ^(C3)10 See, the Lord God comes with strength,
and his power establishes his rule.^(C1)
His wages are with him,^(C2)
and his reward accompanies him.¹¹ He protects his flock like a shepherd;^(C1)
he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them in the fold of his garment.
He gently leads those that are nursing.

¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?^(C1)
Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure
or weighed the mountains on a balance
and the hills on the scales?¹³ Who has directed^(F1) the Spirit of the Lord,
or who gave him counsel?^(C1)14 Who did he consult?
Who gave him understanding^(C1)
and taught him the paths of justice?
Who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of understanding?¹⁵ Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;
he lifts up the islands like fine dust.¹⁶ Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel,
or its animals enough for a burnt offering.^(C1)17 All the nations are as nothing before him;
they are considered by him
as empty nothingness.^(C1)

¹⁸ With whom will you compare God?
What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?^(C1)19 An idol?—something that a smelter casts
and a metalworker plates with gold
and makes silver chains for?^(C1)20 A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal
that will not rot.^(F1)
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not fall over.^(C1)

²¹ Do you not know?^(C1)
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you
from the beginning?
Have you not considered
the foundations of the earth?^(C2)22 God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.^(C1)
He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth^(C2)
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.^(C3)23 He reduces princes to nothing^(C1)
and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.²⁴ They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.^(C1)

²⁵ “To whom will you compare me,^(C1)
or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.²⁶ Look up^(F1) and see!
Who created^(C1) these?
He brings out the stars by number;
he calls all of them by name.^(C2)
Because of his great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.

²⁷ Jacob, why do you say,
and, Israel, why do you assert:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?^(C1)28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,^(C1)
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never becomes faint or weary;
there is no limit to his understanding.^(C2)29 He gives strength to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.³⁰ Youths may become faint and weary,
and young men stumble and fall,³¹ but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;^(C1)
they will soar on wings like eagles;^(C2)
they will run and not become weary,
they will walk and not faint.