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1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

<html><b>Console, console My people</b> He returns to his future prophecies; since from here to the end of the Book are words of consolations, this section separated them from the prophecies of retribution. Console, you, My prophets, console My people.</html>

<html><b>for she has become full [from] her host</b> Jonathan renders: She is destined to become full from the people of the exiles, as though it would say, “She has become full from her host.” Others interpret צְבָאָה like (Job 7:1), “Is there not a time (צָבָא) for man on the earth?” <b>has been appeased</b> Heb. נִרְצָה, has been appeased. <b>for she has taken etc.</b> [Jonathan paraphrases:] For she has received a cup of consolation from before the Lord as though she has been punished doubly for all her sins. According to its simple meaning, it is possible to explain, ‘for she received double punishment.’ Now if you ask, how is it the standard of the Holy One, blessed be He, to pay back a person double his sin, I will tell you that we find an explicit verse (Jer. 16:18): “And I will pay first the doubling of their iniquity and their sin.”</html>

<html><b>A voice</b> The Holy Spirit calls, “In the desert, the way to Jerusalem.” <b>clear the way of the Lord</b> for her exiles to return to her midst. [The Warsaw edition yields:] <b>Clear the way of the Lord</b> The way of Jerusalem for her exiles to return to her midst.</html>

<html><b>Every valley shall be raised</b> and the mountain shall be lowered, thus resulting in a smooth, even, and easily traversed road. <b>and the close mountains</b> Heb. רְכָסִים, mountains close to each other, and because of their proximity, the descent between them is steep and it is not slanted, that it should be easy to descend and ascend. ([The word] רְכָסִים is translated by Jonathan as ‘banks,’ an expression of height like the banks of a river.) <b>close mountains</b> Heb. רְכָסִים. Comp. (Ex. 28:28) “And they shall fasten (וְיִרְכְּסוּ) the breastplate.” <b>a champaigne</b> Canpayne in O.F., a smooth and even terrain.</html>

<html><b>A voice</b> from the Holy One, blessed be He, says to me, “Call!” <b>and it says</b> My spirit says to Him, “What shall I call?” And the voice answers him, “Call this, all flesh is grass. All those who are haughty their greatness shall be turned over and become like grass. ([Manuscripts yield:] All the princes of the kingdom their greatness shall be turned over and shall wither away [lit. shall end] like grass.) <b>and all its kindness is like the blossom of the field</b> For “the kindness of the nations is sin” (Prov. 14:34). [Ed. note: We have inverted the order of Rashi and followed the order of K’li Paz and Parshandatha, to connect the second part of the verse with the first. Rashi’s explanation of the second part follows his first explanation of the first part. In the Lublin edition, the second explanation of the first part of the verse interrupts the sequence.] (Another explanation is: All flesh is grass.) A person’s end is to die; therefore, if he says to do kindness, he is like the blossom of the field, that is cut off and dries, and one must not rely on him, for he has no power to fulfill his promise, perhaps he will die, for, just as the grass dries out and the blossom wilts, so is it that when a man dies, his promise is null, but the word of our God shall last for He is living and existing, and He has the power to fulfill. Therefore, “Upon a lofty mountain ascend and herald, O herald of Zion, for the promise of the tidings emanates from the mouth of Him Who lives forever.”</html>

<html><b>shall wilt</b> Heb. נָבֵל, wilt.</html>

<html><b>O herald of Zion</b> Heb. מְבַשֶּׂרֶת. The prophets who herald Zion. [This is the feminine form.] Elsewhere (infra 52:7), he says, “the feet of the herald (מְבַשֵּׂר).” [This is the masculine form.] This denotes that if they are worthy, he will be as swift as a male. If they are not worthy, he will be as weak as a female and will delay his steps until the end.</html>

<html><b>shall come with a strong [hand]</b> to mete out retribution upon the heathens. ([Mss. read:] Upon the nations.) <b>behold His reward is with Him</b> It is prepared with Him for the righteous. <b>and His recompense</b> [lit. His deed,] the recompense for the deed, which He is obliged to give them.</html>

<html><b>Like a shepherd [who] tends his flock</b> Like a shepherd who tends his flock; with his arm he gathers lambs, and he carries them in his bosom. <b>the nursing ones he leads</b> [Jonathan renders:] The nursing ones he leads gently, the nursing sheep. <b>he leads</b> Heb. יְנַהֵל, lit. he shall lead, like מְנַהֵל, he leads.</html>

<html><b>Who measured etc.</b> He had the power to do all this, and surely He has the power to keep these promises. <b>with his gait</b> Heb. בְּשָׁעֳלוֹ, with his walking, as it is said (Habakkuk 3:15): “You trod with Your horses in the sea.” Comp. (Num. 22:24) “In the path (בְּמִשְׁעוֹל) of the vineyards, a path (for walking).” Another explanation is that שַׁעַל is the name of a receptacle. Comp. (Ezekiel 13:19) “For measures (בְּשַׁעֲלוֹ) of barley.” <b>measured</b> Amolad in O.F., an expression of measure and number. Comp. (Ex. 5:18) “And the number (וְתֹכֶן) of bricks you shall give.” <b>and measured by thirds</b> Heb. בַּשָּׁלִשׁ, and measured by thirds, one third wilderness, one third civilization, and one third seas and rivers. Another interpretation: בַּשָּׁלִשׁ, from the thumb to the middle finger, the third of the fingers. Menahem explains it as the name of a vessel. Comp. (Ps. 80:6) “And You gave them to drink tears with a vessel (שָׁלִישׁ) .” <b>and weighed mountains with a scale</b> Everything according to the earth, a heavy mountain He inserted into hard earth, and the light ones into soft earth.</html>

<html><b>Who meted</b> the Holy Spirit in the mouth of the prophets? The Lord prepared it, and He is worthy of belief. <b>and His adviser who informs Him</b> [and the one with whom He takes counsel He informs] of His spirit. So did Jonathan render it. [Who meted out the spirit? The Lord, and the one with whom He takes counsel He informs him, i.e., the righteous in whom God confides, He informs of His plans for the future.] But, according to its context, וְאִישׁ עֲצָתוֹ refers back to the beginning of the verse. Who meted out His spirit and who is His adviser who informs the Holy One, blessed be He, of counsel?</html>

<html><b>With whom did He take counsel and give him to understand</b> With which of the heathens ([mss., K’li Paz:] nations) did He take counsel, as He took counsel with the prophets, as it is said concerning Abraham (Gen. 18:17): “Do I conceal from Abraham…?” <b>and give him to understand, and teach him in the way of justice</b> With which one of the heathens ([mss., K’li Paz:] nations) did He do so, that He taught him wisdom as He did to Abraham, to whom He gave a heart to recognize Him by himself and to understand the Torah, as it is said (ibid. 26:5): “And he kept My charge,” and Scripture states further (ibid. 18:19), “For he commands etc.” And his kidneys would pour forth wisdom to him, as it is said (Ps. 16:7): “Even at night my kidneys chastised me.” (<b>With whom did He take counsel and who gave Him to understand</b> [With which man did He take counsel and which] man gave the Holy One, blessed be He, [to understand?] Behold all the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and how could they teach Him?)</html>

<html><b>Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket</b> And are not worthy to Him to appoint some of them as prophets to reveal His secret. <b>like a drop from a bucket</b> Heb. כְּמַר, like a bitter drop that drips from the bottom of the bucket, bitter from the putrid water that is embedded in the bucket and the decay of the wood, limonede in O.F. <b>and like the dust of a balance</b> for the copper corrodes and wears off. <b>like fine</b> fine dust. <b>that blows away</b> [lit. that will be taken.] Like dust that is picked up and goes up through the wind, like fine dust that is carried away.</html>

<html><b>there is not enough to burn</b> on His altar. <b>and its beasts</b> (the beasts] of the Lebanonthere is not enough for burnt offerings. Another explanation is: <b>And the Lebanon etc.</b> to expiate the iniquity of the heathens.</html>

<html><b>All the nations are as naught before Him</b> In His eyes they are as naught, and are not regarded by Him.</html>

<html><b>melted</b> Heb. נָסַךְ, an expression of melting (מַסֵּכָה). <b>the craftsman has melted</b> The ironsmith has cast it from iron or from copper, and then the goldsmith plates it with plates of gold and covers it from above. <b>and chains</b> Heb. וּרְתֻקוֹת, and chains.</html>

<html><b>He who is accustomed to select</b> הַמְסֻכָּן תְּרוּמָה. Or, if he comes to make it of wood, one who is accustomed to discern between a durable tree and other trees, chooses a tree that does not decay quickly. <b>He who is accustomed</b> Heb. הַמְסֻכָּן. Comp. (Num. 22:30) “Have I been accustomed (הַהַסְכֵּן הִסְכַּנְתִּי)?” <b>to select</b> Heb. תְּרוּמָה, separation, selection of the trees.</html>

<html><b>Do you not know…the foundations of the earth</b> Who founded it, and you should have worshipped Him.</html>

<html><b>the circle</b> Heb. חוּג, an expression similar to (infra 44:13) “And with a compass (וּבַמְּחוּגָה),” a circle (compas in O.F.). <b>and whose inhabitants</b> are to Him [lit. before Him] like grasshoppers. <b>like a curtain</b> Heb. כַדֹּק, a curtain, toile in French.</html>

<html><b>Even [as though] they were not planted</b> They are even as though they were not planted. <b>even [as though] they were not sown</b> And still more than this, that they shall be uprooted and plucked out, as if they were not sown. Sowing is less than planting. <b>their trunk is not rooted in the earth</b> When they will be plucked out, the trunk will not take root in the ground that it will grow up anew. Every שֹׁרֶשׁ, root, in Scripture is accented on the first letter, and the ‘reish’ is vowelized with a ‘pattah’ [segol]. This one, however, is accented on the latter syllable and it is vowelized with a ‘kamatz katan’ [tzeireh] because it is a verb, present tense, [enracinant in French] being rooted.</html>

<html><b>who created these</b> All the host that you will see on high. <b>because of His great might</b> that He has, and that He is strong in power, no one of His host is missing, that He does not call by name.</html>

<html><b>Why should you say</b> My people ([K’li Paz, mss.:] the people of) Jacob, and speak in exile. <b>My way has been hidden from the Lord</b> He hid from before His eyes all that we served Him, and gave those who did not know Him, dominion over us. <b>and from my God, my judgment passes?</b> He ignores the judgment of the good reward He should have paid our forefathers and us.</html>

<html><b>the Creator of the ends of the earth…there is no fathoming His understanding</b> And One who has such strength and such wisdom—He knows the thoughts. Why does He delay your benefit, only to terminate the transgression and to expiate the sin through afflictions.</html>

<html><b>Who gives the tired strength</b> And who will eventually renew strength for your tiredness.</html>

<html><b>Now youths shall become tired</b> Heb. נְעָרִים. The might of your enemies who are devoid (מְנֹעָרִים) of commandments, shall become faint. <b>and young men shall stumble</b> Those who are now mighty and strong, shall stumble, but you, who put your hope in the Lord shall gain new strength and power.</html>

<html><b>wings</b> [The Hebrew אבר means] a wing.</html>