Darby Bible
Isaiah 40:21
21— Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundation 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 workman casteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains [for it]. 20He that is impoverished, so that he hath no offering, chooseth a tree that doth not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilled workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved. — Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundation of the earth? 22[It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a gauze curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; 23that bringeth the 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 its branches are withered they shall be broken off; women shall come [and] set them on fire. For it is a people of no intelligence; therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he who formed them will shew them no favour.
- Isaiah 44:20He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
- Isaiah 46:8Remember this, and shew yourselves men; call it to mind, ye transgressors.
- Psalms 19:1The heavens declare the glory of God; and the expanse sheweth the work of his hands.
- Psalms 115:8They that make them are like unto them, — every one that confideth in them.
- Jeremiah 10:8But they are one and all senseless and foolish; the teaching of vanities is a stock.
- Acts 14:17though indeed he did not leave himself without witness, doing good, and giving to you from heaven rain and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.
- Romans 1:19Because what is known of God is manifest among them, for God has manifested [it] to them,
- Romans 3:1What then [is] the superiority of the Jew? or what 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
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Commentaries