English Standard Version ESV
New International Version NIV
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?
13
Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor?
14 Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
14
Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
15
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
16
Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
17
Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.
18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?
18
With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.
19
As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
20 He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.
20
A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple.
21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
21
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
22
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
23
He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.