(A)Speak [a]kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her [b](B)warfare has ended,
That her [c](C)iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
(D)Double for all her sins.”

(E)A voice [d]is calling,
(F)Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
“Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:2 Lit to the heart of
  2. Isaiah 40:2 Or hard service
  3. Isaiah 40:2 Or penalty of iniquity accepted as paid off
  4. Isaiah 40:3 Or of one calling out

Speak tenderly(A) to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service(B) has been completed,(C)
    that her sin has been paid for,(D)
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
    double(E) for all her sins.

A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way(F) for the Lord[a];
make straight(G) in the desert
    a highway for our God.[b](H)
Every valley shall be raised up,(I)
    every mountain and hill(J) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,(K)
    the rugged places a plain.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord
  2. Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God