Berean Standard Bible

Isaiah 40:12-22

12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,1 or informed Him as His counselor?214Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding?

15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;they are considered a speck of dust on the scales;He lifts up the islands3 like fine dust.16Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel,nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.17All the nations are as nothing before Him;He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.

18To whom will you liken God?To what image will you compare Him?19To an idol that a craftsman castsand a metalworker overlays with goldand fits with silver chains?20One lacking such an offeringchooses wood that will not rot.He seeks a skilled craftsmanto set up an idol that will not topple.

21Do you not know?Have you not heard?Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth;its dwellers are like grasshoppers.He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

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Notes

1. Isaiah 40:13 Or mind of the LORD; see also LXX. ↩
2. Isaiah 40:13 Cited in Romans 11:34 and 1 Corinthians 2:16 ↩
3. Isaiah 40:15 Or coastlands ↩

Notes

Commentaries on Isaiah 40