Isaiah 40:17

Isaiah 40:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
• New International Version (NIV)Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.
• English Standard Version (ESV)All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
• New King James Version (NKJV)All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

Context of Isaiah 40:17

15The Lord looks at the nations as if they are a little bit of water in a bucket. They are like dust on his scales. He weighs the islands as he would weigh dust. 16All the trees from Lebanon's forests are not enough to make a fire for his altar. All its animals are not enough to offer to him as burnt offerings. All the nations in the world are not important to the Lord. He sees them as empty and useless. 18You cannot find anyone else who is like God. There is no image that you can make to be like him. 19A worker may use special skill to make an idol. Another worker may cover it with gold. He may use silver chains to make it beautiful.

Isaiah 40:17 word by word

כָּל־הַגּוֹיִ֖ם כְּאַ֣יִן נֶגְדּ֑וֹ מֵאֶ֥פֶס וָתֹ֖הוּ נֶחְשְׁבוּ־לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• All nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• as nothing; and they are countedחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: countH2803
• to him less than nothingאֶ֫פֶס'ephes · endH657
• and vanityתֹּ֫הוּtôhû · formlessnessH8414

Cross-references for Isaiah 40:17

• Job 25:6So when God looks at us humans, we do not seem important to him. To him, we are as useless as worms.’
• Psalms 62:9People are only as light as a breath! Whoever they are, they are not important. If you try to weigh them, all together, they weigh less than a breath of air.
• Daniel 4:34At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up towards heaven. My own mind returned to me again. I praised the powerful God above who lives for ever. I worshipped him as a great God. His kingdom will continue for ever. He will always have authority to rule.
• 2 Corinthians 12:11I am speaking like a proud fool, but you have made me do it. You yourselves should be saying good things about me. I may not be important. But I am as good as those very special apostles.

Commentaries on Isaiah 40:17

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Are as nothing - This expresses literally what had been expressed by the beautiful and striking imagery above. Less than nothing - A strong hyperbolic expression denoting the utter insignificance of the nations as compared with God. Such expressions are common in the Scriptures. And vanity - Hebrew, תהו tôhû - Emptiness;‘ the word which in Genesis 1:2 is rendered without form.‘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. 17The nations, including their leaders (Isaiah 40:23), pagan structures (41:24, 29; 44:9–11), and all enemies of God's people (41:11–12), are worth nothing apart from God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. (Psa 62:9; Da 4:35). less than nothing--Maurer translates, as in Is 41:24, "of nothing" (partitively; or expressive of the nature of a thing), a mere nothing. vanity--emptiness.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 40:17

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

In the dictionaries

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

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