2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.Tell her that her sad days are goneand her sins are pardoned.Yes, the lord has punished her twice overfor all her sins.”
3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,“Clear the way through the wildernessfor the lord!Make a straight highway through the wastelandfor our God!
4 Fill in the valleys,and level the mountains and hills.Straighten the curves,and smooth out the rough places.
5 Then the glory of the lord will be revealed,and all people will see it together.The lord has spoken!”
6 A voice said, “Shout!”I asked, “What should I shout?”“Shout that people are like the grass.Their beauty fades as quicklyas the flowers in a field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fadebeneath the breath of the lord.And so it is with people.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fade,but the word of our God stands forever.”