Isaiah 40:12-26

Amplified Bible

¹² 
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens with a span [of the hand],
And calculated the dust of the earth with a ^[a]measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
¹³ 
Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or has taught Him as His counselor?^(A)
14 
With whom did He consult and who enlightened Him?
Who taught Him the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
¹⁵ 
In fact, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;
Now look, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
¹⁶ 
And [the forests of] Lebanon cannot supply sufficient fuel to start a fire,
Nor are its wild beasts enough for a burnt offering [worthy of the Lord].
¹⁷ 
All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

¹⁸ 
To whom then will you liken God?
Or with what likeness will you compare Him?^(B)
19 
As for the cast image (idol), a metalworker casts it,
A goldsmith overlays it with gold
And a silversmith casts its silver chains.
²⁰ 
He who is too impoverished for such an offering [to give to his god]
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To [carve and] set up an idol that will not totter.

²¹ 
Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]?^(C)
22 
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
[It is He] who stretches out the heavens like a veil
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
²³ 
It is He who reduces dignitaries to nothing,
Who makes the judges (rulers) of the earth meaningless (useless).
²⁴ 
Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And a strong wind carries them away like stubble.
²⁵ 
“To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
²⁶ 
Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these heavenly bodies,
The One who brings out their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one is missing.