Isaiah 40:9-24

Jerusalem, you have good news to tell. Go up on a high mountain. Jerusalem, you have good news to tell. Shout out loud the good news. Shout it out and don’t be afraid. Say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God.” Look, the Lord GOD is coming with power to rule all the people. Look, he will bring reward for his people; he will have their payment with him. He takes care of his people like a shepherd. He gathers them like lambs in his arms and carries them close to him. He gently leads the mothers of the lambs. Who has measured the oceans in the palm of his hand? Who has used his hand to measure the sky? Who has used a bowl to measure all the dust of the earth and scales to weigh the mountains and hills? Who has known the mind of the LORD or been able to give him advice? Whom did he ask for help? Who taught him the right way? Who taught him knowledge and showed him the way to understanding? The nations are like one small drop in a bucket; they are no more than the dust on his measuring scales. To him the islands are no more than fine dust on his scales. All the trees in Lebanon are not enough for the altar fires, and all the animals in Lebanon are not enough for burnt offerings. Compared to the LORD all the nations are worth nothing; to him they are less than nothing. Can you compare God to anything? Can you compare him to an image of anything? An idol is formed by a craftsman, and a goldsmith covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it. A poor person cannot buy those expensive statues, so he finds a tree that will not rot. Then he finds a skilled craftsman to make it into an idol that will not fall over. Surely you know. Surely you have heard. Surely from the beginning someone told you. Surely you understand how the earth was created. God sits on his throne above the circle of the earth, and compared to him, people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the skies like a piece of cloth and spreads them out like a tent to sit under. He makes rulers unimportant and the judges of this world worth nothing. They are like plants that are placed in the ground, like seeds that are planted. As soon as they begin to grow strong, he blows on them and they die, and the wind blows them away like chaff.