American Standard Version
Isaiah 40:21
21Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Isaiah 40:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
- New International Version (NIV)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?
- English Standard Version (ESV)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?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Context of Isaiah 40:21
19The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains. 20He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; 23that bringeth princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Read all of Isaiah 40Isaiah 40:21 word by word
הֲל֤וֹא תֵֽדְעוּ֙ הֲל֣וֹא תִשְׁמָ֔עוּ הֲל֛וֹא הֻגַּ֥ד מֵרֹ֖אשׁ לָכֶ֑ם הֲלוֹא֙ הֲבִ֣ינֹתֶ֔ם מוֹסְד֖וֹת הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Isaiah 40:21
- Isaiah 27:11When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off; the women shall come, and set them on fire; for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have compassion upon them, and he that formed them will show them no favor.
- Isaiah 44:20He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
- Isaiah 46:8Remember this, and show yourselves men; bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.
- Psalms 19:1The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament showeth his handiwork.
- Psalms 115:8They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them.
- Jeremiah 10:8But they are together brutish and foolish: the instruction of idols! it is but a stock.
- Acts 14:17And yet he left not himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.
- Romans 1:19because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them.
- Romans 3:1What advantage then hath the Jew? or what is the profit of circumcision?
Commentaries on Isaiah 40:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Have ye not known - On this verse Kimchi has a very interesting comment, an extract of which I subjoin. "The whole world may be considered as a house built up; heaven its roof; the stars its lamps; and the fruits of the earth its table spread. The Master of the house is God, blessed for ever; and man is the steward into whose hand all the business of the house is given. If he always consider in his heart that the Master of the house is continually over…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Have ye not known? - This is evidently an address to the worshippers of idols, and either designed to be addressed to the Jews themselves in the times of Manasseh, when idolatry abounded, or to all idolaters. The prophet had in the previous verses shown the manner in which the idols were made, and the folly of regarding them as objects of worship. He now turns and addresses the worshippers of these idols, as being without excuse. They might have known…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. 21Idol worshipers do not recognize God or respond wisely to him. The faithful in Israel understand and see God's role in the story of redemption, which includes both exile and restoration (Isaiah 41:20).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. ye--who worship idols. The question emphatically implies, they had known. from the beginning--(Is 41:4, 26; 48:16). God is the beginning (Re 1:8). The tradition handed down from the very first, of the creation of all things by God at the beginning, ought to convince you of His omnipotence and of the folly of idolatry.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 40:21
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries