Isaiah 40:12-31
New Living Translation
The Lord Has No Equal
12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?[a]
Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
or show him the path of justice?
15 No, for all the nations of the world
are but a drop in the bucket.
They are nothing more
than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth
as though it were a grain of sand.
16 All the wood in Lebanon’s forests
and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough
to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.
17 The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.
In his eyes they count for less than nothing—
mere emptiness and froth.
18 To whom can you compare God?
What image can you find to resemble him?
19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,
overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
20 Or if people are too poor for that,
they might at least choose wood that won’t decay
and a skilled craftsman
to carve an image that won’t fall down!
21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand?
Are you deaf to the words of God—
the words he gave before the world began?
Are you so ignorant?
22 God sits above the circle of the earth.
The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
and makes his tent from them.
23 He judges the great people of the world
and brings them all to nothing.
24 They hardly get started, barely taking root,
when he blows on them and they wither.
The wind carries them off like chaff.
25 “To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
Footnotes
- 40:13 Greek version reads Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Compare Rom 11:34; 1 Cor 2:16.
Isaiah 40:12-31
New International Version
12 Who has measured the waters(A) in the hollow of his hand,(B)
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?(C)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?(D)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[a](E) of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?(F)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,(G)
or showed him the path of understanding?(H)
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;(I)
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(J)
16 Lebanon(K) is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals(L) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(M) are as nothing;(N)
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.(O)
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(P)
To what image(Q) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(R) a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith(S) overlays it with gold(T)
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood(U) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol(V) that will not topple.(W)
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(X)
Has it not been told(Y) you from the beginning?(Z)
Have you not understood(AA) since the earth was founded?(AB)
22 He sits enthroned(AC) above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.(AD)
He stretches out the heavens(AE) like a canopy,(AF)
and spreads them out like a tent(AG) to live in.(AH)
23 He brings princes(AI) to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(AJ)
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root(AK) in the ground,
than he blows(AL) on them and they wither,(AM)
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(AN)
25 “To whom will you compare me?(AO)
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(AP)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(AQ)
Who created(AR) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(AS) one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(AT)
not one of them is missing.(AU)
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?(AV)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(AW)
The Lord is the everlasting(AX) God,
the Creator(AY) of the ends of the earth.(AZ)
He will not grow tired or weary,(BA)
and his understanding no one can fathom.(BB)
29 He gives strength(BC) to the weary(BD)
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men(BE) stumble and fall;(BF)
31 but those who hope(BG) in the Lord
will renew their strength.(BH)
They will soar on wings like eagles;(BI)
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.(BJ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:13 Or mind
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