Isaiah 40:15

Isaiah 40:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
• New International Version (NIV)Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.

Context of Isaiah 40:15

13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor? 14Whom 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? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands 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.

Isaiah 40:15 word by word

הֵ֤ן גּוֹיִם֙ כְּמַ֣ר מִדְּלִ֔י וּכְשַׁ֥חַק מֹאזְנַ֖יִם נֶחְשָׁ֑בוּ הֵ֥ן אִיִּ֖ים כַּדַּ֥ק יִטּֽוֹל׃Read the interlinear

• Surelyהֵןhên · look!H2005
• the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• are like a dropמַרmar · dropH4752
• in a bucketדְּלִיdelîy dŏlîy · bucketH1805
• they are consideredחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: countH2803
• a speck of dustשַׁ֫חַקshachaq · cloudH7834
• on the scalesמֹאזֵןmô'zên · balanceH3976
• He lifts upנָטַלnâţal · to liftH5190
• the islandsאִי'îy · coastlandH339
• like fine dustדַּקdaq · thinH1851

Cross-references for Isaiah 40:15

• Isaiah 38:22And Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?”
• Job 34:14If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath,
• Jeremiah 10:10But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
• Isaiah 11:11On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
• Isaiah 41:5The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward.
• Isaiah 59:18So He will repay according to their deeds: fury to His enemies, retribution to His foes, and recompense to the islands.
• Isaiah 66:19I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. So they will proclaim My glory among the nations.
• Genesis 10:5From these, the maritime peoples separated into their territories, according to their languages, by clans within their nations.
• Daniel 11:18Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him.
• Zephaniah 2:11The LORD will be terrifying to them when He starves all the gods of the earth. Then the nations of every shore will bow in worship to Him, each in its own place.

Commentaries on Isaiah 40:15

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Behold, the nations - All the nations of the earth. This is designed to show the greatness of God, in comparison with that which strikes man as great - a mighty nation; and the main object seems to be, to show that God could accomplish his purposes without their aid, and that they could not resist him in the execution of his plans. If they were as nothing in comparison with him, how easily could he execute his purposes! If they were as nothing, how little…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 All created beings shrink to nothing in comparison with the Creator. When the Lord, by his Spirit, made the world, none directed his Spirit, or gave advice what to do, or how to do it. The nations, in comparison of him, are as a drop which remains in the bucket, compared with the vast ocean; or as the small dust in the balance, which does not turn it, compared with all the earth. This magnifies God's love to the world, that, though it is of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15God rules over all nations and their power structures. Compared to God, they are almost nothing. This includes the Babylonian Empire, which was just a tool in God's hand.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. of--rather, (hanging) from a bucket [Maurer]. he taketh up ... as a very little thing--rather, "are as a mere grain of dust which is taken up," namely, by the wind; literally, "one taketh up," impersonally (Ex 16:14) [Maurer]. isles--rather, "lands" in general, answering to "the nations" in the parallel clause; perhaps lands, like Mesopotamia, enclosed by rivers [Jerome] (so Is 42:15). However, English Version, "isles" answers well to "mountains" (Is…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 40:15

• Balances
• Bucket
• God Continued...
• Idolatry
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Bucket
• Carry
• Cry
• Feed
• Renew
• Balance
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah (2)
• John, Gospel of

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