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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff.

Context of Isaiah 40:24

22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. 23He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. 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. 25“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 26Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

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 a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities.
• Isaiah 17:11though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain.
• 1 Kings 21:21He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.
• 2 Kings 10:11So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.
• Job 15:30He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
• Job 18:16His roots dry up below and his branches wither above.
• Jeremiah 22:30This is what the Lord says: “Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah.”
• Nahum 1:14The Lord has given a command concerning you, Nineveh: “You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the images and idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave, for you are vile.”
• Isaiah 40:7The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass.
• Isaiah 11:4but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
• Isaiah 30:33Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.
• Isaiah 37:7Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’ ”
• 2 Samuel 22:16The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
• Job 4:9At the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger they are no more.
• Haggai 1:9“You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.
• Isaiah 17:13Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweed before a gale.

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