Isaiah 40:13-25

New King James Version

¹³^(A)Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
¹⁴With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And ^(B)taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?

¹⁵Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
¹⁶And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
¹⁷All nations before Him are as ^(C)nothing,
And ^(D)they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

¹⁸To whom then will you ^(E)liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
¹⁹^(F)The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
²⁰Whoever is too impoverished for such ^[a]a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
^(G)To prepare a carved image that will not totter.

²¹^(H)Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
²²It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who ^(I)stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a ^(J)tent to dwell in.
²³He ^[b]brings the ^(K)princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.

²⁴Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

²⁵“To^(L) whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 40:20 an offering
Isaiah 40:23 reduces

Isaiah 40:13-25

New International Version

¹³Who can fathom the Spirit^[a]^(A) of the Lord,
    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?^(B)
¹⁴Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
    and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,^(C)
    or showed him the path of understanding?^(D)

¹⁵Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
    they are regarded as dust on the scales;^(E)
    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.^(F)
¹⁶Lebanon^(G) is not sufficient for altar fires,
    nor its animals^(H) enough for burnt offerings.
¹⁷Before him all the nations^(I) are as nothing;^(J)
    they are regarded by him as worthless
    and less than nothing.^(K)

¹⁸With whom, then, will you compare God?^(L)
    To what image^(M) will you liken him?
¹⁹As for an idol,^(N) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith^(O) overlays it with gold^(P)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
²⁰A person too poor to present such an offering
    selects wood^(Q) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
    to set up an idol^(R) that will not topple.^(S)

²¹Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?^(T)
Has it not been told^(U) you from the beginning?^(V)
    Have you not understood^(W) since the earth was founded?^(X)
²²He sits enthroned^(Y) above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.^(Z)
He stretches out the heavens^(AA) like a canopy,^(AB)
    and spreads them out like a tent^(AC) to live in.^(AD)
²³He brings princes^(AE) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.^(AF)
²⁴No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root^(AG) in the ground,
than he blows^(AH) on them and they wither,^(AI)
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.^(AJ)