Isaiah 40:15
in Isaiah 40Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 40
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 15) 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. LXX: Behold, all the nations are as a drop in a bucket and are accounted as the dust on the scales. All peoples who did not know their Creator or the whole human race in comparison to God are like a drop from a bucket and like a speck of dust on a scale that tilts lightly to one side.
This site's exposition
nations are as a drop of a bucket
on Isaiah 40:15-17
Against that wisdom the nations are set for scale, a drop of a bucket, small dust on the balance, the isles themselves lifted as a very little thing. Even Lebanon's forests are not enough for fuel nor its beasts enough for a single burnt offering worthy of such a God, a deliberate overstatement the commentators read as rhetorical rather than a ritual proposal. All nations before him are as nothing, counted less than nothing and vanity, the same word for emptiness used later of the idols the nations trust.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12 and following) Who measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills on a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did he consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? 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. And Lebanon is not enough to burn, and its animals are not enough for a burnt offering. All nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Who has shown him the way of justice, and who has taught him knowledge? Behold, all the nations are as a drop in a bucket and are accounted as the dust on the scales. Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor all the animals enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing in his sight, and they are counted as worthless. Let no one think that the calling of the nations is difficult, and that all flesh will see the salvation of God. […]
The Medieval Church2 voices
Third, he shows its excellence, that it exceeds all the multitude of nations: behold the Gentiles are as a drop, a little spot, of a bucket, falling from a bucket, which is a vessel of water fit for the thirsty, which is accounted as nothing; …
A commentator
BonaventureQuaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 4 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
And just as all things compared to the divine power can do virtually nothing, so all things compared to the divine essence are virtually the least. Whence in respect to the divine being this entire world is as something minimal. And this is what is …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket,....
He takes them up, and throws them away from him, as a very little thing, not worth speaking of. They are all in his eye as nothing, as if they had no being at all; for they add nothing to his perfection and all-sufficiency. They are counted by him, and are to be counted by us in comparison of him, less than nothing, and vanity.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
However, English Version, "isles" answers well to "mountains" (Isa 40:12), both alike being lifted up by the power of God; in fact, "isles" are mountains upheaved from the bed of the sea by volcanic agency; only that he seems here to have passed from unintelligent creatures (Isa 40:12) to intelligent, as nations and lands, that is, their inhabitants.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Behold, 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 could they resist the execution of his plans!
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
With whom did He take counsel and give him to understand With which of the heathens ([mss., K’li Paz:] nations) did He take counsel, as He took counsel with the prophets, as it is said concerning Abraham (Gen.:17): “Do I conceal from Abraham..?”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵ֤ן | hen | there! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| גּוֹיִם֙ | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| כְּמַ֣ר | kemar | like a drop | H4752 → | |
| מִדְּלִ֔י | mideli | from a bucket | H1805 → | |
| וּכְשַׁ֥חַק | ukheshachak | and like [the] dust of | H7834 → | |
| מֹאזְנַ֖יִם | moznayim | scales | H3976 → | |
| נֶחְשָׁ֑בוּ | nechshavu | they are regarded | H2803 → | 124 times |
| הֵ֥ן | hen | there! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| אִיִּ֖ים | ʾiyim | islands | H339 → | 36 times |
| כַּדַּ֥ק | kadak | like <the> fine [dust] | H1851 → | |
| יִטּֽוֹל׃ | yitol | he lifts | H5190 → |
הֵ֤ןthere!
henH2005 →316 times
גּוֹיִם֙nations
goyimH1471 →561 times
כְּמַ֣רlike a drop
kemarH4752 →
מִדְּלִ֔יfrom a bucket
mideliH1805 →
וּכְשַׁ֥חַקand like [the] dust of
ukheshachakH7834 →
מֹאזְנַ֖יִםscales
moznayimH3976 →
נֶחְשָׁ֑בוּthey are regarded
nechshavuH2803 →124 times
הֵ֥ןthere!
henH2005 →316 times
אִיִּ֖יםislands
ʾiyimH339 →36 times
כַּדַּ֥קlike <the> fine [dust]
kadakH1851 →
יִטּֽוֹל׃he lifts
yitolH5190 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 40:22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
it leads to
- Proverbs 8:27
I was there when He established the heavens, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
- Isaiah 42:5
This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to…
- Psalms 104:2
He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
- Isaiah 66:1
This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- Proverbs 8:27
Through
Jeremiah 10:10But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
- Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit,…
- Psalms 76:7
You alone are to be feared. When You are angry, who can stand before You?
- Nahum 1:6
Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His burning anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; even rocks are shattered before Him.
- Deuteronomy 32:4
Where this verse is studied
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About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Quaestiones Disputatae, De Mysterio Trinitatis, Question 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.