English Standard Version ESV
New International Version NIV
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.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
24
No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
25
“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.
26
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"?
27
Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”?
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.