# Isaiah 40.17 **Book:** [Isaiah](/codex/isaiah/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 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. (Isaiah 40:15-19, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 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. (Isaiah 40:15-19, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 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. (Isaiah 40:15-19, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 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. (Isaiah 40:15-19, 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._ - [H8414 - tohu](/codex/h8414-tohu/), *tohu*, Strong's H8414 ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [Argument from Mathematical Truth](/codex/argument-from-mathematical-truth/), via [Isaiah 40.12-26](/codex/isaiah-40-12-26/) - [Cosmic Dictator Objection Defeater](/codex/cosmic-dictator-objection-defeater/), via [Isaiah 40.13-17](/codex/isaiah-40-13-17/) **Concepts:** - [Doctrine](/codex/doctrine/), via [Isaiah 40.12-18](/codex/isaiah-40-12-18/) - [Pantheism](/codex/pantheism/), via [Isaiah 40.12-31](/codex/isaiah-40-12-31/) **Lexicon:** - [H8414 - tohu](/codex/h8414-tohu/) ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.