5. The Lord’s glory will appear,and all humanity will see it together;the Lord’s mouth has commanded it."
6. A voice was saying:"Call out!"And another said,"What should I call out?"All flesh is grass;all its loyalty is like the flowers of the field.
7. The grass dries upand the flower witherswhen the Lord’s breath blows on it.Surely the people are grass.
8. The grass dries up;the flower withers,but our God’s word will exist forever.
9. Go up on a high mountain,messenger Zion!Raise your voice and shout,messenger Jerusalem!Raise it; don’t be afraid;say to the cities of Judah,"Here is your God!"
10. Here is the Lord God,coming with strength,with a triumphant arm,bringing his reward with himand his payment before him.
11. Like a shepherd, God will tend the flock;he will gather lambs in his armsand lift them onto his lap.He will gently guide the nursing ewes.
12. Who has measured the waters in the palm of a handor gauged the heavens with a ruleror scooped the earth’s dust up in a measuring cupor weighed the mountains on a scaleand the hills in a balance?
13. Who directed the Lord’s spiritand acted as God’s advisor?
14. Whom did he consult for enlightenment?Who taught him the path of justice and knowledgeand explained to him the way of understanding?
15. Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket,and valued as dust on a scale.Look, God weighs the islands like fine dust.
16. Lebanon doesn’t have enough fuel;its animals aren’t enough for an entirely burned offering.
17. All the nations are like nothing before God.They are viewed as less than nothing and emptiness.
18. So to whom will you equate God;to what likeness will you compare him?
19. An idol? A craftsman pours it,a metalworker covers it with gold,and fashions silver chains.
20. The one who sets up an image chooses wood that won’t rotand then seeks a skilled artisanto set up an idol that won’t move.