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 above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. 23He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff. 25“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. 26Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one 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 14:21Kill this man’s children! Let them die because of their father’s sins! They must not rise and conquer the earth, filling the world with their cities.”
• Isaiah 17:11They may sprout on the day you set them out; yes, they may blossom on the very morning you plant them, but you will never pick any grapes from them. Your only harvest will be a load of grief and unrelieved pain.
• 1 Kings 21:21So now the Lord says, ‘I will bring disaster on you and consume you. I will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel!
• 2 Kings 10:11Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s relatives living in Jezreel and all his important officials, his personal friends, and his priests. So Ahab was left without a single survivor.
• Job 15:30“They will not escape the darkness. The burning sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God will destroy them.
• Job 18:16Their roots will dry up, and their branches will wither.
• Jeremiah 22:30This is what the Lord says: ‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless. He is a failure, for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David to rule over Judah.’
• Nahum 1:14And this is what the Lord says concerning the Assyrians in Nineveh: “You will have no more children to carry on your name. I will destroy all the idols in the temples of your gods. I am preparing a grave for you because you are despicable!”
• Isaiah 40:7The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people.
• Isaiah 11:4He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
• Isaiah 30:33Topheth—the place of burning— has long been ready for the Assyrian king; the pyre is piled high with wood. The breath of the Lord, like fire from a volcano, will set it ablaze.
• Isaiah 37:7Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.’”
• 2 Samuel 22:16Then at the command of the Lord, at the blast of his breath, the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.
• Job 4:9A breath from God destroys them. They vanish in a blast of his anger.
• Haggai 1:9You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses.
• Isaiah 17:13But though they thunder like breakers on a beach, God will silence them, and they will run away. They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind, like a tumbleweed whirling before a storm.

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