Isaiah 40:24

Isaiah 40:24 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
• New International Version (NIV)No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

Context of Isaiah 40:24

22God sits high above on his throne where the earth and the sky meet. The people on the earth seem like grasshoppers to him. He hangs out the sky like a curtain. He makes it like a tent for him to live in. 23He takes away the power of kings. He causes the rulers of the world to be useless. They are like plants that soon disappear. Somebody plants them in the ground. But while their roots are still growing into the soil, God blows on them and they become dry. Then the wind carries them away like straw. 25The Holy God says, ‘You cannot find anyone who is like me. Nobody is the same as me.’ 26Look up at the sky! Think about the one who made all the stars. God is the one who brought together that great army! He knows how many they are and he knows each of their names! When he calls them, each one is there, because he is so strong and powerful.

Isaiah 40:24 word by word

אַ֣ף בַּל־נִטָּ֗עוּ אַ֚ף בַּל־זֹרָ֔עוּ אַ֛ף בַּל־שֹׁרֵ֥שׁ בָּאָ֖רֶץ גִּזְעָ֑ם וְגַם־נָשַׁ֤ף בָּהֶם֙ וַיִּבָ֔שׁוּ וּסְעָרָ֖ה כַּקַּ֥שׁ תִּשָּׂאֵֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yea, they shall not be plantedנָטַעnâţa‛ · to plantH5193
• yea, they shall not be sownזָרַעzâra‛ · to sowH2232
• yea, their stockגֶּ֫זַעgeza‛ · stockH1503
• shall not take rootשָׁרַשׁshârash · to uprootH8327
• in the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• and he shall also blowנָשַׁףnâshaph · to blowH5398
• upon them, and they shall witherיָבֵשׁyâbêsh · to witherH3001
• and the whirlwindסְעָרָהsa‛ar se‛ârâh · tempestH5591
• shall takeנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375
• them away as stubbleקַשׁqash · stubbleH7179

Cross-references for Isaiah 40:24

• Isaiah 14:21Prepare to kill this king's children, because of the sins of their ancestors. Then his children will not rule the world. They will not build cities everywhere.’
• Isaiah 17:11You take care of them so that they grow quickly. They may even make flowers on the same morning that you plant them! But you will never have any fruit from them. You will only get trouble and pain that will never go away.
• 1 Kings 21:21So the Lord says, “Now I will bring great trouble on you. I will destroy you and your family. I will kill every male among Ahab's descendants in Israel, whoever they are.
• 2 Kings 10:11After that, Jehu killed everybody in Jezreel who was a descendant of Ahab. He also killed Ahab's officers, his friends and his priests. No descendant of Ahab remained alive.
• Job 15:30When it becomes dark, he will not be able to escape. He will be like a tree that fire has burned. God's breath will blow him away!
• Job 18:16He is like a tree whose roots have become dry, and its branches have fallen off.
• Jeremiah 22:30The Lord says, ‘Write this man's name on the list. Write it as the name of a man who has no children. He will not have success in his life. None of his sons will rule as a descendant of King David. None of them will be king of Judah.’
• Nahum 1:14Nineveh, the Lord has said what will happen to you. He has said, ‘You will have no children and your family name will have an end. I will destroy the statues that you made from wood and metal. You worship those statues in your temples. There I will make graves for you because you are bad.’
• Isaiah 40:7Grass quickly dies, and flowers fall to the ground. The Lord causes this to happen, when he sends a wind to blow on them. It is true. People are like grass.
• Isaiah 11:4But he will judge poor people with true justice. He will decide to do what is right for all the helpless people. He will have authority everywhere in the land. The words that he speaks will bring death to wicked people.
• Isaiah 30:33The Lord has already prepared a place to burn the bodies of the dead people. It is ready for the king of Assyria! There is a place for him that is deep and wide. There is plenty of wood for the fire. The Lord's breath will be like a stream of hot sulphur. He will breathe out on the heap of wood and the fire will burn!
• Isaiah 37:7Listen to me! I will put a spirit into the king of Assyria's mind. He will hear a report which will cause him to return to his own country. There, in his own land, I will cause someone to kill him with a sword.” ’
• 2 Samuel 22:16When the Lord shouted against his enemies, even the bottom of the deep sea appeared. People could see the deepest places of the earth, when he breathed out in anger.
• Job 4:9God destroys them with his breath. His anger is like a storm that blows them away.
• Haggai 1:9You thought that you would get a lot of food from the crops that grow in your fields. But only a few plants grew. When you brought your food home, it quickly disappeared. I blew it away! Why do you think all this happened? It happened because my temple is still a heap of stones. At the same time, you all work hard to build your own houses. I, the Almighty Lord, am telling you this!
• Isaiah 17:13But it does not matter how much noise they make. Those people may roar like powerful waves, but the Lord will shout at them to stop. Then they will run far away! They will run like the wind as it blows chaff across the hills. It will be like a strong storm that carries away dead weeds!

Commentaries on Isaiah 40:24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24And he shall also blow upon them "And if he but blow upon them" - The Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and MS. Bodl., with another, have גם gam, only, without the conjunction ו vau, and.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24Yea, they shall not be planted - The kings and rulers - especially they who oppose God in the execution of his purposes. The idea in this verse is, that their name and family should become extinct in the same way as a tree does from which no shoot starts up. Although they were great and mighty, like the tree that sends out far-spreading branches, and strikes its roots deep, yet God would so utterly destroy them that they should have no posterity, and…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. 1-31This chapter introduces chapters 40–66. In this section, comfort means the result of God's merciful actions toward people in the future. It includes encouragement, strength, and acceptance. God wants to rescue his people (Isaiah 40:1–11) and is fully capable of doing so (40:12–26). The exiles needed to trust God's promises and wait for their rescue (Isaiah 40:27–31; see also 30:15–18).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2424. they--the "princes and judges" (Is 40:23) who oppose God's purposes and God's people. Often compared to tall trees (Psa 37:35; Da 4:10). not ... sown--the seed, that is, race shall become extinct (Na 1:14). stock--not even shall any shoots spring up from the stump when the tree has been cut down: no descendants whatever (Job 14:7; see on Is 11:1). and ... also--so the Septuagint. But Maurer translates, "They are hardly (literally, 'not yet', as in 2Ki…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 40:24

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

In the dictionaries

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

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