Isaiah 40:9-26

9You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”

10See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.

11He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?

13Who can fathom the Spirit Or mind of the LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor?

14Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding?

15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

16Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.

17Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.

18With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him?

19As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.

20A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple.

21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

23He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

25“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

26Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.