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The Greatness of God

¹ "^(C1)Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God.

² "^(C1)Speak ^(F1)kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her ^(F2)(C2)warfare has ended,
That her ^(F3)(C3)iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the LORD'S hand
^(C4)Double for all her sins."

^3 (C1)A voice ^(F1)is calling,
"^(C2)Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

⁴ "Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

^5 (F1)Then the ^(C1)glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And ^(C2)all flesh will see it together;
For the ^(C3)mouth of the LORD has spoken."

⁶ A voice says, "Call out."
Then ^(F1)he answered, "What shall I call out?"
^(C1)All flesh is grass, and all its ^(F2)loveliness is like the flower of the field.

⁷ The ^(C1)grass withers, the flower fades,
^(F1)When the ^(C2)breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.

⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades,
But ^(C1)the word of our God stands forever.

⁹ Get yourself up on a ^(C1)high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of ^(C2)good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear.
Say to the ^(C3)cities of Judah,
"^(C4)Here is your God!"

¹⁰ Behold, the Lord ^(F1)GOD will come ^(C1)with might,
With His ^(C2)arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His ^(C3)reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.

¹¹ Like a shepherd He will ^(C1)tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

¹² Who has ^(C1)measured the ^(F1)waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens by the ^(F2)span,
And ^(F3)calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?

^13 (C1)Who has ^(F1)directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His ^(C2)counselor has informed Him?

^14 (C1)With whom did He consult and who ^(C2)gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?

¹⁵ Behold, the ^(C1)nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of ^(C2)dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the ^(F1)islands like fine dust.

¹⁶ Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its ^(C1)beasts enough for a burnt offering.

^17 (C1)All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and ^(F1)meaningless.

^18 (C1)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

¹⁹ As for the ^(F1)(C1)idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith ^(C2)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

²⁰ He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a ^(C1)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To ^(F1)prepare ^(F2)an idol that ^(C2)will not totter.

^21 (C1)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood ^(C2)from the foundations of the earth?

²² It is He who ^(F1)sits above the ^(F2)(C1)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like ^(C2)grasshoppers,
Who ^(C3)stretches out the heavens like a ^(C4)curtain
And spreads them out like a ^(C5)tent to dwell in.

²³ He it is who reduces ^(C1)rulers to nothing,
Who ^(C2)makes the judges of the earth ^(F1)meaningless.

^24 (F1)Scarcely have they been planted,
^(F1)Scarcely have they been sown,
^(F1)Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the ^(C1)storm carries them away like stubble.

²⁵ "^(C1)To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One.

^26 (C1)Lift up your eyes on high
And see ^(C2)who has created these stars,
The ^(C3)One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the ^(C4)greatness of His might and the ^(F1)strength of His power,
^(C5)Not one of them is missing.

^27 (C1)Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
"My way is ^(C2)hidden from the LORD,
And the ^(C3)justice due me ^(F1)escapes the notice of ^(C4)my God"?

^28 (C1)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The ^(C2)Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is ^(C3)inscrutable.

²⁹ He gives strength to the ^(C1)weary,
And to him who lacks might He ^(C2)increases power.

³⁰ Though ^(C1)youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous ^(C2)young men stumble badly,

³¹ Yet those who ^(F1)wait for the LORD
Will ^(C1)gain new strength;
They will ^(F2)(C2)mount up with ^(F3)wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.