Study Desk

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

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

^(C1)The voice of one calling out, "^(C2)Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make ^(F1)straight in the desert a highway for our God.

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

^(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."

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.

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

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

Go up on a ^(C1)high mountain, Zion, messenger of ^(C2)good news, Raise your voice forcefully, Jerusalem, messenger of good news; Raise it up, do not fear. Say to the ^(C3)cities of Judah, "^(C4)Here is your God!"

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

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

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

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

^(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?

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.

Even Lebanon is not enough to ^(F1)burn, Nor its ^(C1)animals enough for a burnt offering.

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

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

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

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.

^(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?

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 live in.

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

^(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.