Passage

Isaiah 40.12-18

Book: Isaiah · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"10. Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young."

"12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 13. Who hath directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor hath taught him? 14. With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? 15. Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 16. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. 17. All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity. 18. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?"

"19. The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains. 20. He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved." (Isaiah 40:10-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"10. Behold, the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young."

"12. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measuring basket, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 13. Who has directed Yahweh’s Spirit, or has taught him as his counselor? 14. Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? 15. Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing. 16. Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering. 17. All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity. 18. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?"

"19. A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it. 20. He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up an engraved image for him that will not be moved." (Isaiah 40:10-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"10. Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. ^{with strong: or, against the strong} ^{his work: or, recompence for his work} 11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. ^{that: or, that give suck}"

"12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? ^{a measure: Heb. a tierce} 13. Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? ^{his: Heb. man of his counsel} 14. With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? ^{instructed: Heb. made him understand} ^{understanding: Heb. understandings?} 15. 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. 16. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. 17. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. 18. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?"

"19. The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 20. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. ^{is so: Heb. is poor of oblation}" (Isaiah 40:10-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"10. Lo, the Lord Jehovah with strength cometh, And His arm is ruling for Him, Lo, His hire [is] with Him, and His wage before Him. 11. As a shepherd His flock He feedeth, With His arm He gathereth lambs, And in His bosom He carrieth [them]: Suckling ones He leadeth."

"12. Who hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters? And the heavens by a span hath meted out, And comprehended in a measure the dust of the earth, And hath weighed in scales the mountains, And the hills in a balance? 13. Who hath meted out the Spirit of Jehovah, And, [being] His counsellor, doth teach Him! 14. With whom consulted He, That he causeth Him to understand? And teacheth Him in the path of judgment, And teacheth Him knowledge? And the way of understanding causeth Him to know? 15. Lo, nations as a drop from a bucket, And as small dust of the balance, have been reckoned, Lo, isles as a small thing He taketh up. 16. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt-offering. 17. All the nations [are] as nothing before Him, Less than nothing and emptiness, They have been reckoned to Him. 18. And unto whom do ye liken God, And what likeness do ye compare to Him?"

"19. The graven image poured out hath a artisan, And a refiner with gold spreadeth it over, And chains of silver he is refining. 20. He who is poor [by] heave-offerings, A tree not rotten doth choose, A skilful artisan he seeketh for it, To establish a graven image, not moved." (Isaiah 40:10-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Doctrine

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.