Isaiah 40:12-31

12 Who has ¹measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?

13 ²Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His ³counselor * has informed Him?

14 ⁴With whom did He consult and who ⁵gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the ⁶nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of ⁷dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, Nor its ⁸beasts enough for a burnt offering.

17 ⁹All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

18 ¹⁰To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

19 As for the ¹¹idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith ¹²plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a ¹³tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that ¹⁴will not totter.

21 ¹⁵Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood ¹⁶from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is He who sits above the ¹⁷circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like ¹⁸grasshoppers, Who ¹⁹stretches out the heavens like a ²⁰curtain And spreads them out like a ²¹tent to dwell in.

23 He it is who reduces ²²rulers to nothing, Who ²³makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

24 Scarcely * have they been planted, Scarcely * have they been sown, Scarcely * has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the ²⁴storm carries them away like stubble.

25 "²⁵To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One.

26 ²⁶Lift up your eyes on high And see ²⁷who has created these stars, The ²⁸One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the ²⁹greatness of His might and the strength of His power, ³⁰Not one of them is missing.

27 ³¹Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, "My way is ³²hidden from the LORD, And the ³³justice due me escapes the notice of ³⁴my God "?

28 ³⁵Do you not know? Have you not heard? The ³⁶Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is ³⁷inscrutable *.

29 He gives strength to the ³⁸weary, And to him who lacks might He ³⁹increases power.

30 Though ⁴⁰youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous ⁴¹young men stumble badly,

31 Yet those who wait for the LORD Will ⁴²gain new strength; They will ⁴³mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Isaiah 40:12-31 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 40

This chapter treats of the comforts of God's people; of the forerunner and coming of the Messiah; of his work, and the dignity of his person; of the folly of making idols, and of the groundless complaints of the church of God. The consolations of God's people, by whom to be administered, and the matter, ground, and reason of them, Isa 40:1,2. John the Baptist, the harbinger of Christ, is described by his work and office, and the effects of it; it issuing in the humiliation of some, and the exaltation of others, and in the revelation of the glory of Christ, Isa 40:3-5, then follows an order to every minister of the Gospel what he should preach and publish; the weakness and insufficiency of men to anything that is spiritually good; their fading and withering goodliness, which is to be ascribed to the blowing of the Spirit of God upon it; and the firmness and constancy of the word of God is declared, Isa 40:6-8, next the apostles of Christ in Jerusalem are particularly exhorted to publish fervently and openly the good tidings of the Gospel; to proclaim the coming of Christ, the manner of it, and the work he came about; and to signify his faithful discharge of his office as a shepherd, Isa 40:9-11, the dignity of whose person is set forth by his almighty power, by his infinite wisdom, and by the greatness of his majesty, in comparison of which all nations and things are as nothing, Isa 40:12-17 and then the vanity of framing any likeness to God, and of forming idols for worship, is observed, Isa 40:18-25, and from the consideration of the divine power in creation and upholding all things, the church of God is encouraged to expect renewed strength and persevering grace, and is blamed for giving way to a distrustful and murmuring spirit, Isa 40:26-31.

Cross References

• 1. Job 38:8-11; Psalms 102:25, 26; Isaiah 48:13; Hebrews 1:10-12
• 2. Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 2:16
• 3. Isaiah 41:28
• 4. Job 38:4
• 5. Job 21:22; Colossians 2:3
• 6. Jeremiah 10:10
• 7. Isaiah 17:13; Isaiah 29:5
• 8. Psalms 50:9-11; Micah 6:6, 7; Hebrews 10:5-9
• 9. Isaiah 29:7
• 10. Exodus 8:10; Exodus 15:11; 1 Samuel 2:2; Isaiah 40:25; Isaiah 46:5; Micah 7:18; Acts 17:29
• 11. Psalms 115:4-8; Isaiah 41:7; Isaiah 44:10; Habakkuk 2:18, 19
• 12. Isaiah 2:20; Isaiah 30:22
• 13. Isaiah 44:14
• 14. 1 Samuel 5:3, 4; Isaiah 41:7; Isaiah 46:7
• 15. Psalms 19:1; Psalms 50:6; Isaiah 37:26; Acts 14:17; Romans 1:19
• 16. Isaiah 48:13; Isaiah 51:13
• 17. Job 22:14; Proverbs 8:27
• 18. Numbers 13:33
• 19. Job 9:8; Isaiah 37:16; Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 44:24
• 20. Psalms 104:2
• 21. Job 36:29; Psalms 18:11; Psalms 19:4
• 22. Job 12:21; Psalms 107:40; Isaiah 34:12
• 23. Isaiah 5:21; Jeremiah 25:18-27
• 24. Isaiah 17:13; Isaiah 41:16
• 25. Isaiah 40:18
• 26. Isaiah 51:6
• 27. Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 48:12, 13
• 28. Psalms 147:4
• 29. Psalms 89:11-13
• 30. Isaiah 34:16; Isaiah 48:13
• 31. Isaiah 49:4, 14
• 32. Isaiah 54:8
• 33. Job 27:2; Job 34:5; Luke 18:7, 8
• 34. Isaiah 25:1
• 35. Isaiah 40:21
• 36. Genesis 21:33; Psalms 90:2
• 37. Psalms 147:5; Romans 11:33
• 38. Isaiah 50:4; Jeremiah 31:25
• 39. Isaiah 41:10
• 40. Jeremiah 6:11; Jeremiah 9:21
• 41. Isaiah 9:17
• 42. Job 17:9; Psalms 103:5; 2 Cor 4:8-10, 16
• 43. Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11; Luke 18:1; 2 Corinthians 4:1, 16; Galatians 6:9; Hebrews 12:3

Footnotes

• [a]. DSS reads "waters of the sea"
• [b]. Or "half cubit;" i.e. 9 in.
• [c]. Lit "contained" or "comprehended"
• [d]. Or "measured, marked off"
• [e]. Or "coastlands"
• [f]. Or "void"
• [g]. Or "graven image"
• [h]. Or "set up"
• [i]. Or a "graven image"
• [j]. Or "is enthroned"
• [k]. Or "vault"
• [l]. Or "void"
• [m]. Or "Not even"
• [n]. Or "Not even"
• [o]. Or "Not even"
• [p]. So DSS and ancient versions; M.T. "strong"
• [q]. Lit "passes by my God"
• [r]. Or "hope in"
• [s]. Or "sprout wings"
• [t]. Or "pinions"