1 “Comfort my people,” says our God. “Comfort them!
2 Encourage the people of Jerusalem.Tell them they have suffered long enoughand their sins are now forgiven.I have punished them in full for all their sins.”
3 A voice cries out,“Prepare in the wilderness a road for the Lord!Clear the way in the desert for our God!
4 Fill every valley;level every mountain.The hills will become a plain,and the rough country will be made smooth.
5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,and all people will see it.The Lord himself has promised this.”
6 A voice cries out, “Proclaim a message!”“What message shall I proclaim?” I ask.“Proclaim that all human beings are like grass;they last no longer than wild flowers.
7 Grass withers and flowers fadewhen the Lord sends the wind blowing over them.People are no more enduring than grass.