Isaiah 40:18-26

New International Version

¹⁸With whom, then, will you compare God?^(A)
    To what image^(B) will you liken him?
¹⁹As for an idol,^(C) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith^(D) overlays it with gold^(E)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
²⁰A 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)

²¹Do 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)
²²He 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)
²³He brings princes^(T) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.^(U)
²⁴No 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)
²⁶Lift 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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Isaiah 40:18-26

New American Standard Bible

¹⁸^(A)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
¹⁹As for the ^[a]^(B)idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith ^(C)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
²⁰He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a ^(D)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To ^[b]prepare ^[c]an idol that ^(E)will not totter.

²¹^(F)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood ^(G)from the foundations of the earth?
²²It is He who ^[d]sits above the ^[e]^(H)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like ^(I)grasshoppers,
Who ^(J)stretches out the heavens like a ^(K)curtain
And spreads them out like a ^(L)tent to live in.
²³It is He who reduces ^(M)rulers to nothing,
Who ^(N)makes the judges of the earth ^[f]meaningless.
²⁴^[g]Scarcely have they been planted,
^[h]Scarcely have they been sown,
^[i]Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the ^(O)storm carries them away like stubble.
²⁵“^(P)To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
²⁶^(Q)Raise your eyes on high
And see ^(R)who has created these stars,
The ^(S)One who brings out their ^[j]multitude by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the ^(T)greatness of His might and the ^[k]strength of His power,
^(U)Not one of them is missing.