God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 55:8
8“My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways,” declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
- New International Version (NIV)“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
Context of Isaiah 55:8
6Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. 7Let wicked people abandon their ways. Let evil people abandon their thoughts. Let them return to the Lord, and he will show compassion to them. Let them return to our God, because he will freely forgive them. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways,” declares the Lord. 9“Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” 10“Rain and snow come down from the sky. They do not go back again until they water the earth. They make it sprout and grow so that it produces seed for farmers and food for people to eat.
Read all of Isaiah 55Isaiah 55:8 word by word
כִּ֣י לֹ֤א מַחְשְׁבוֹתַי֙ מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֥א דַרְכֵיכֶ֖ם דְּרָכָ֑י נְאֻ֖ם יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 55:8
- 2 Samuel 7:19And even this you consider to be a small act, Almighty Lord. You’ve also spoken about the distant future of my house. Almighty Lord, this is the teaching about the man.
- Psalms 25:10Every path of the Lord is ⌞one of⌟ mercy and truth for those who cling to his promise and written instructions.
- Psalms 40:5You have done many miraculous things, O Lord my God. You have made many wonderful plans for us. No one compares to you! I will tell others about your miracles, which are more than I can count.
- Psalms 92:5How spectacular are your works, O Lord! How very deep are your thoughts!
- Proverbs 21:8The way of a guilty person is crooked, but the behavior of those who are pure is moral.
- Proverbs 25:3⌞Like⌟ the high heavens and the deep earth, so the mind of kings is unsearchable.
- Jeremiah 3:1A saying: If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband shouldn’t go back to her again. The land would become thoroughly polluted. “You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers. And now you want to come back to me!” declares the Lord.
- Ezekiel 18:29“But the nation of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s way is unfair.’ Isn’t my way fair, nation of Israel? Isn’t it your ways that are unfair?
- Daniel 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, will praise, honor, and give glory to the King of Heaven. Everything he does is true, his ways are right, and he can humiliate those who act arrogantly.
- Hosea 14:9Wise people will understand these things. A person with insight will recognize them. The Lord’s ways are right. Righteous people live by them. Rebellious people stumble over them.
Commentaries on Isaiah 55:8
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-13Verses 6-13 Here is a gracious offer of pardon, and peace, and of all happiness. It shall not be in vain to seek God, now his word is calling to us, and his Spirit is striving with us. But there is a day coming when he will not be found. There may come such a time in this life; it is certain that at death and judgment the door will be shut. There must be not only a change of the way, but a change of the mind. We must alter our judgments about persons and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9My thoughts are not your thoughts: God's plans are wonderful (Psalm 92:5; compare Psalm 94:11). God's creations, including humans, cannot fully understand the Creator's thoughts. However, his messengers reveal insights and knowledge about some of his actions.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. For--referring to Is 55:7. You need not doubt His willingness "abundantly to pardon" (compare Is 55:12); for, though "the wicked" man's "ways," and "the unrighteous man's thoughts," are so aggravated as to seem unpardonable, God's "thoughts" and "ways" in pardoning are not regulated by the proportion of the former, as man's would be towards his fellow man who offended him; compare the "for" (Psa 25:11; Ro 5:19).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 55:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 55
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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