1 “Comfort my people! Comfort them!” says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and announce to it
3 A voice cries out in the desert:
4 Every valley will be raised.
5 Then the Lord’s glory will be revealed
6 A voice called, “Call out!”
7 Grass dries up,
8 Grass dries up,
9 Go up a high mountain, Zion.
10 The Almighty Lord is coming with power
11 Like a shepherd he takes care of his flock.
12 Who has measured the water of the sea with the palm of his hand
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord
14 Whom did he consult?
15 The nations are like a drop in a bucket
16 All the trees in Lebanon are not enough to burn an offering.
17 All the nations amount to nothing in his presence.
18 To whom, then, can you compare God?
19 Craftsmen make idols.
20 The poorest people choose wood that will not rot
21 Don’t you know?
22 God is enthroned above the earth,
23 He makes rulers unimportant
24 They have hardly been planted.
25 “To whom, then, can you compare me?
26 Look at the sky and see.
27 Jacob, why do you complain?
28 Don’t you know?
29 He gives strength to those who grow tired
30 Even young people grow tired and become weary,
31 Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord