² Speak kindly to the people of Jerusalem
    and tell them
that their time of service is finished,
    that they have paid for their sins,
that the Lord has punished Jerusalem
    twice for every sin they did.”
³ This is the voice of one who calls out:
“Prepare in the desert
    the way for the Lord.
Make a straight road in the dry lands
    for our God.
⁴ Every valley should be raised up,
    and every mountain and hill should be made flat.
The rough ground should be made level,
    and the rugged ground should be made smooth.