New Living Translation
Isaiah 40:15
15No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.
Isaiah 40:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
- New International Version (NIV)Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
Context of Isaiah 40:15
13Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? 14Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice? No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand. 16All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God. 17The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing— mere emptiness and froth.
Read all of Isaiah 40Isaiah 40:15 word by word
הֵ֤ן גּוֹיִם֙ כְּמַ֣ר מִדְּלִ֔י וּכְשַׁ֥חַק מֹאזְנַ֖יִם נֶחְשָׁ֑בוּ הֵ֥ן אִיִּ֖ים כַּדַּ֥ק יִטּֽוֹל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Behold, the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- as a dropמַרmar · dropH4752
- of a bucketדְּלִיdelîy dŏlîy · bucketH1805
- and are countedחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: countH2803
- as the small dustשַׁ֫חַקshachaq · cloudH7834
- of the balanceמֹאזֵןmô'zên · balanceH3976
- behold, he taketh upנָטַלnâţal · to liftH5190
- the islesאִי'îy · coastlandH339
- as a very little thingדַּקdaq · thinH1851
Cross-references for Isaiah 40:15
- Isaiah 38:22And Hezekiah had asked, “What sign will prove that I will go to the Temple of the Lord?”
- Job 34:14If God were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath,
- Jeremiah 10:10But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations cannot stand up to his wrath.
- Isaiah 11:11In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people— those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt; in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam; in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands.
- Isaiah 41:5The lands beyond the sea watch in fear. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war.
- Isaiah 59:18He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.
- Isaiah 66:19I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations.
- Genesis 10:5Their descendants became the seafaring peoples that spread out to various lands, each identified by its own language, clan, and national identity.
- Daniel 11:18“After this, he will turn his attention to the coastland and conquer many cities. But a commander from another land will put an end to his insolence and cause him to retreat in shame.
- Zephaniah 2:11The Lord will terrify them as he destroys all the gods in the land. Then nations around the world will worship the Lord, each in their own land.
Commentaries on Isaiah 40:15
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Behold, the nations - All the nations of the earth. This is designed to show the greatness of God, in comparison with that which strikes man as great - a mighty nation; and the main object seems to be, to show that God could accomplish his purposes without their aid, and that they could not resist him in the execution of his plans. If they were as nothing in comparison with him, how easily could he execute his purposes! If they were as nothing, how little…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. 15God rules over all nations and their power structures. Compared to God, they are almost nothing. This includes the Babylonian Empire, which was just a tool in God's hand.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. of--rather, (hanging) from a bucket [Maurer]. he taketh up ... as a very little thing--rather, "are as a mere grain of dust which is taken up," namely, by the wind; literally, "one taketh up," impersonally (Ex 16:14) [Maurer]. isles--rather, "lands" in general, answering to "the nations" in the parallel clause; perhaps lands, like Mesopotamia, enclosed by rivers [Jerome] (so Is 42:15). However, English Version, "isles" answers well to "mountains" (Is…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 40:15
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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