Isaiah 40:24

Isaiah 40:24 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

Context of Isaiah 40:24

22It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; [It is He] who stretches out the heavens like a veil And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23It is He who reduces dignitaries to nothing, Who makes the judges (rulers) of the earth meaningless (useless). 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 a strong wind carries them away like stubble. 25“To whom then will you compare Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. 26Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these heavenly bodies, The One who brings out their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one is missing.

Isaiah 40:24 word by word

אַ֣ף בַּל־נִטָּ֗עוּ אַ֚ף בַּל־זֹרָ֔עוּ אַ֛ף בַּל־שֹׁרֵ֥שׁ בָּאָ֖רֶץ גִּזְעָ֑ם וְגַם־נָשַׁ֤ף בָּהֶם֙ וַיִּבָ֔שׁוּ וּסְעָרָ֖ה כַּקַּ֥שׁ תִּשָּׂאֵֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yea, they shall not be plantedנָטַעnâţa‛ · to plantH5193
• yea, they shall not be sownזָרַעzâra‛ · to sowH2232
• yea, their stockגֶּ֫זַעgeza‛ · stockH1503
• shall not take rootשָׁרַשׁshârash · to uprootH8327
• in the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• and he shall also blowנָשַׁףnâshaph · to blowH5398
• upon them, and they shall witherיָבֵשׁyâbêsh · to witherH3001
• and the whirlwindסְעָרָהsa‛ar se‛ârâh · tempestH5591
• shall takeנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375
• them away as stubbleקַשׁqash · stubbleH7179

Cross-references for Isaiah 40:24

• Isaiah 14:21Prepare a slaughtering place for his sons Because of the wickedness [the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing] of their fathers. They must not rise and take possession of the earth, And fill the face of the world with cities.”
• Isaiah 17:11In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in, And in the morning you bring your seed to blossom; Yet [promising as it is] the harvest will be a heap [of ruins that passes away] In the day of sickness and incurable pain.
• 1 Kings 21:21Behold [says the Lord], I am bringing evil (catastrophe) on you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel;
• 2 Kings 10:11So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his familiar friends and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.
• Job 15:30He will not escape from darkness [fleeing disaster]; The flame [of God’s wrath] will wither his branch, And by the blast of His mouth he will go away.
• Job 18:16The roots [of the wicked] are dried up below, And above, his branch is cut off and withers.
• Jeremiah 22:30Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man [Coniah] down as childless, A man who will not prosper (succeed) in his lifetime; For not one of his descendants will succeed In sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.’ ”
• Nahum 1:14The Lord has given a command concerning you [O king of Nineveh]: “Your name will no longer be perpetuated. I will cut off the carved idols and cast images From the temple of your gods; I will prepare your grave, For you are vile and unworthy.”
• Isaiah 40:7The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Most certainly [all] the people are [like] grass.
• Isaiah 11:4But with righteousness and justice He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the downtrodden of the earth; And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
• Isaiah 30:33For Topheth [in Hinnom] has long been ready; Indeed, it has been prepared for the [Assyrian] king. He has made it deep and wide, A pit of fire with plenty of wood; The breath of the Lord, like a river of brimstone (blazing sulfur), kindles and fans it.
• Isaiah 37:7Listen carefully, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
• 2 Samuel 22:16The channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were uncovered At the rebuke of the Lord, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
• Job 4:9By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
• Haggai 1:9“You look for much [harvest], but it comes to little; and even when you bring that home, I blow it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house, which lies in ruins while each of you runs to his own house [eager to enjoy it].
• Isaiah 17:13The nations roar on like the roaring of many waters, But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind, Or like whirling dust before the storm.

Commentaries on Isaiah 40:24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24And he shall also blow upon them "And if he but blow upon them" - The Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and MS. Bodl., with another, have גם gam, only, without the conjunction ו vau, and.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24Yea, they shall not be planted - The kings and rulers - especially they who oppose God in the execution of his purposes. The idea in this verse is, that their name and family should become extinct in the same way as a tree does from which no shoot starts up. Although they were great and mighty, like the tree that sends out far-spreading branches, and strikes its roots deep, yet God would so utterly destroy them that they should have no posterity, and…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-26Verses 18-26 Whatever we esteem or love, fear or hope in, more than God, that creature we make equal with God, though we do not make images or worship them. He that is so poor, that he has scarcely a sacrifice to offer, yet will not be without a god of his own. They spared no cost upon their idols; we grudge what is spent in the service of our God. To prove the greatness of God, the prophet appeals to all ages and nations. Those who are ignorant of this…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-31This chapter introduces chapters 40–66. In this section, comfort means the result of God's merciful actions toward people in the future. It includes encouragement, strength, and acceptance. God wants to rescue his people (Isaiah 40:1–11) and is fully capable of doing so (40:12–26). The exiles needed to trust God's promises and wait for their rescue (Isaiah 40:27–31; see also 30:15–18).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2424. they--the "princes and judges" (Is 40:23) who oppose God's purposes and God's people. Often compared to tall trees (Psa 37:35; Da 4:10). not ... sown--the seed, that is, race shall become extinct (Na 1:14). stock--not even shall any shoots spring up from the stump when the tree has been cut down: no descendants whatever (Job 14:7; see on Is 11:1). and ... also--so the Septuagint. But Maurer translates, "They are hardly (literally, 'not yet', as in 2Ki…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 40:24

• God Continued...
• Idolatry
• Life
• Readings, Select
• Stubble

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Carry
• Cry
• Feed
• Renew
• Blow
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah (2)
• John, Gospel of
• Leviticus

Commentaries on Isaiah 40

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings