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said these men? and from whence came they unto thee?' And Hezekiah said: 'They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.' ⁴Then said he: 'What have they seen in thy house?' And Hezekiah answered: 'All that is in my house have they seen; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.' ⁵Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah: 'Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: ⁶Behold, the days come, that all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. ⁷And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be officers in the palace of the king of Babylon.' ⁸Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah: 'Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken.' He said moreover: 'If but there shall be peace and truth in my days.'

40Comfort ye, comfort ye My people,

Saith your God.

²Bid Jerusalem take heart,

And proclaim unto her,

That her time of service is accomplished,

That her guilt is paid off;

That she hath received of the Lord's hand

Double for all her sins.

 

³Hark! one calleth:

'Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord,

Make plain in the desert

A highway for our God.

⁴Every valley shall be lifted up,

And every mountain and hill shall be made low;

And the rugged shall be made level,

And the rough places a plain;

⁵And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

And all flesh shall see it together;

For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.'

 

⁶Hark! one saith: 'Proclaim!'

And he saith: 'What shall I proclaim?'

'All flesh is grass,

And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field;

⁷The grass withereth, the flower fadeth;

Because the breath of the Lord bloweth upon it—

Surely the people is grass.

⁸The grass withereth, the flower fadeth;

But the word of our God shall stand for ever.'

 

⁹O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion,

Get thee up into the high mountain;

O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem,

Lift up thy voice with strength;

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say unto the cities of Judah:

'Behold your God! '

¹⁰Behold, the Lord God will come as a Mighty One,

And His arm will rule for Him;

Behold, His reward is with Him,

And His recompense before Him.

¹¹Even as a shepherd that feedeth his flock,

That gathereth the lambs in his arm,

And carrieth them in his bosom,

And gently leadeth those that give suck.

 

¹²Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

And meted out heaven with the span,

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