18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(A)
    To what image(B) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(C) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith(D) overlays it with gold(E)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
    selects wood(F) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
    to set up an idol(G) that will not topple.(H)

21 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?(I)
Has it not been told(J) you from the beginning?(K)
    Have you not understood(L) since the earth was founded?(M)
22 He sits enthroned(N) above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.(O)
He stretches out the heavens(P) like a canopy,(Q)
    and spreads them out like a tent(R) to live in.(S)
23 He brings princes(T) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(U)
24 No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root(V) in the ground,
than he blows(W) on them and they wither,(X)
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(Y)

25 “To whom will you compare me?(Z)
    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(AA)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(AB)
    Who created(AC) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(AD) one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(AE)
    not one of them is missing.(AF)

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18 Who will you compare God with?
What likeness will you compare Him to?(A)
19 To an idol?—something that a smelter casts,
and a metalworker plates with gold
and makes silver welds for it?(B)
20 To one who shapes a pedestal,
choosing wood that does not rot?[a]
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not fall over.(C)

21 Do you not know?(D)
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you
from the beginning?
Have you not considered
the foundations of the earth?(E)
22 God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.(F)
He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth(G)
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.(H)
23 He reduces princes to nothing(I)
and makes judges of the earth irrational.
24 They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when He blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.(J)

25 “Who will you compare Me to,(K)
or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up[b] and see:
who created(L) these?
He brings out the starry host by number;
He calls all of them by name.(M)
Because of His great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:20 Or who is too poor for such an offering, or who chooses mulberry wood as a votive gift; Hb obscure
  2. Isaiah 40:26 Lit Lift up your eyes on high