GOD'S WORD Translation GW
New International Version NIV
17 All the nations amount to nothing in his presence. He considers them less than nothing and worthless.
17
Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.
18 To whom, then, can you compare God? To what statue can you compare him?
18
With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him?
19 Craftsmen make idols. Goldsmiths cover them with gold. Silversmiths make silver chains for them.
19
As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
20 The poorest people choose wood that will not rot and search out skillful craftsmen to set up idols that will not fall over.
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 Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Haven't you been told from the beginning? Don't you understand 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 God is enthroned above the earth, and those who live on it are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the sky like a canopy and spreads it out like a tent to live 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 He makes rulers unimportant and makes earthly judges worth nothing.
23
He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 They have hardly been planted. They have hardly been sown. They have hardly taken root in the ground. Then he blows on them and they wither, and a windstorm sweeps them away like straw.
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, can you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One.
25
“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Look at the sky and see. Who created these things? Who brings out the stars one by one? He calls them all by name. Because of the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one of them 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 Jacob, why do you complain? Israel, why do you say, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my rights are ignored 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”?
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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.