Day 209: God Comforts His People (2026)

**Fr. Mike Schmitz** (0:04)
Hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to The Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using The Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 209 We are, gosh, good job, you guys, well done. And we are reading Isaiah, Chapter 39 and 40 We are leaving the Book of Woe and we're heading into the Book of Consolation, which is awesome. We're also being introduced to another one of the major prophets, Ezekiel. We're just reading Ezekiel Chapter 1 today. We're also reading Proverbs 11, Verses 29 through 31 As always, the Bible translation that I am reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using The Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com/bible in a year. You can also subscribe to this podcast to receive daily episodes and updates and all those kinds of things. Or you can just not subscribe and I'll keep on reminding you to do the thing you don't want to do. But be that as it may, it is Day 209 We are reading Isaiah 39 and 40, Ezekiel Chapter 1, and Proverbs Chapter 11, Verses 29 through 31
The Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Chapter 39, Envoys from Babylon, Welcomed. At that time, Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, King of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered, and Hezekiah welcomed them. He showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, What did these men say, and from where did they come to you? Hezekiah said, They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon. He said, What have they seen in your house? Hezekiah answered, They have seen all that is in my house. There was nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts. Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your sons, who are born to you, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, The word of the Lord which we have spoken is good. For He thought, There will be peace and security in my days.
Chapter 40 God Comforts His People Comfort. Comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
A voice cries, In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low. The uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. A voice says, Cry, and I say, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it. Surely, the people is grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Judah, Behold, your God! Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who, as directed, the Spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor, has instructed him? Whom did he consult for his enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?