Isaiah 40:17-27

17 The nations are nothing at all to him.
18 To whom can God be compared? 1 How can you describe what he is like?
19 He is not like an idol that workers make, that metalworkers cover with gold and set in a base of silver.
20 Anyone who cannot afford silver or gold 2 chooses wood that will not rot. He finds a skillful worker to make an image that won't fall down.
21 Do you not know? Were you not told long ago? Have you not heard how the world began?
22 It was made by the one who sits on his throne above the earth and beyond the sky; the people below look as tiny as ants. He stretched out the sky like a curtain, like a tent in which to live.
23 He brings down powerful rulers and reduces them to nothing.
24 They are like young plants, just set out and barely rooted. When the Lord sends a wind, they dry up and blow away like straw.
25 To whom can the holy God be compared? Is there anyone else like him?
26 Look up at the sky! 3 Who created the stars you see? The one who leads them out like an army, he knows how many there are and calls each one by name! His power is so great - not one of them is ever missing!
27 Israel, why then do you complain that the Lord doesn't know your troubles or care if you suffer injustice?

Cross References 3

  • 1. 40.18, 19Acts 17.29.
  • 2. +240.20Wisdom 13.11-19; LetJeremiah 8-40.
  • 3. +240.26Baruch 3.34, 35.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. [Verses 19-20a in Hebrew are unclear.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.