Isaiah 40:1–5

1Comfort, give comfort to my people,
    says your God.
2Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
    that her service has ended,
    that her guilt is expiated,
That she has received from the hand of the Lord
    double for all her sins.

3    A voice proclaims:
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord!
    Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
4Every valley shall be lifted up,
    every mountain and hill made low;
The rugged land shall be a plain,
    the rough country, a broad valley.
5Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together;
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.