Isaiah 40:16
in Isaiah 40Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.
KJV
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
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This verse in Isaiah 40
Commentary
12 notes on this verse(Verse 16) And Lebanon is not enough to burn, and its animals are not enough for a burnt offering. LXX: Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor all the animals enough for a burnt offering. At the same time, as he gradually withdraws people from idolatry, he abolishes the ceremonies of sacrifices; and he teaches that all the trees of Lebanon and the cattle that feed on them are not sufficient for his burnt offerings.
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 Fathers2 voices
He teaches, therefore, that all of this service through blood and sacrifice is no longer appropriate for God. Neither someone offering all the four-footed creatures of the earth nor all of Lebanon and all the matter produced in it as sacrifices would be worthy before God. "All the nations are as nothing, and are reckoned as nothing." What kind of clinging to idolatrous straying did God not know about?
(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 Church1 voice
He also shows that it exceeds every fitting honor and especially as to offerings: and Libanus, that is, the trees of Libanus, in which it abounds, because it is wooded, nor the beasts, in which it abounds, because it is fit for pasture: what shall …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Lebanon is not sufficient to burn; not the wood of it, to be for the fuel of the altar, though it be so well stocked with cedars; not the beasts of it, to be for sacrifices, though it be so well stocked with cattle,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,....
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Whatever we honour God with, it falls infinitely short of the merit of his perfection; for he is exalted far above all blessing and praise, all burnt-offerings and sacrifices.
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.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And Lebanon is not sufficient - The image is beautiful and uncommon. It has been imitated by an apocryphal writer, who however comes far short of the original: - “For all sacrifice is too little for a sweet savor unto thee: And all the fat is not sufficient for thy burnt-offering.” Judith 16:16. Does not the prophet mean here that all the burnt-offerings and sacrifices that could be offered were insufficient to atone for sin?
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
All Lebanon's forest would not supply fuel enough to burn sacrifices worthy of the glory of God (Isa 66:1; Ps 50:8-13). beasts--which abounded in Lebanon.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And Lebanon - The expression here refers to the trees or the cedars of Lebanon. Thus it is rendered by the Chaldee: ‘And the trees of Lebanon.’ For a description of Lebanon, see the note at Isa 10:34. It is probable that the word Lebanon here is not used in the limited sense in which it is sometimes employed, to denote a single mountain, or a single range of mountains, but includes the entire ranges lying north of Palestine, and which were comprehended under the general name of Libanus. The idea here is, that all these ranges of mountains, abounding in magnificent trees and forests, would not furnish fuel sufficient to burn the sacrifices which would be an appropriate offering to the majesty and glory of God. To burn - To burn for the purpose of consuming the sacrifice. Nor the beasts thereof for a burnt-offering - As the mountains of Lebanon were extensive forests, they would abound with wild animals. The idea is, that all those animals, if offered in sacrifice, would not be an appropriate expression of what was due to God. It may be remarked here, if all the vast forests of Lebanon on fire, and all its animals consumed as an offering to God, were not sufficient to show forth his glory, how little can our praises express the proper sense of his majesty and honor! How profound should be our reverence for God! With what awful veneration should we come before him! The image employed here by Isaiah is one of great poetic beauty; and nothing, perhaps, could give a deeper impression of the majesty and honor of the great Yahweh.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּלְבָנ֕וֹן | ulevanon | and Lebanon | H3844 → | 71 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| דֵּ֖י | dei | [is] sufficiency of | H1767 → | 39 times |
| בָּעֵ֑ר | baer | burning | H1197 → | 94 times |
| וְחַיָּת֔וֹ | vechaiyato | and animal[s] its | H2416 → | 498 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| דֵּ֖י | dei | [is] sufficiency of | H1767 → | 39 times |
| עוֹלָֽה׃ ס | olah | burnt offering | H5930 → | 287 times |
וּלְבָנ֕וֹןand Lebanon
ulevanonH3844 →71 times
אֵ֥יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
דֵּ֖י[is] sufficiency of
deiH1767 →39 times
בָּעֵ֑רburning
baerH1197 →94 times
וְחַיָּת֔וֹand animal[s] its
vechaiyatoH2416 →498 times
אֵ֥יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
דֵּ֖י[is] sufficiency of
deiH1767 →39 times
עוֹלָֽה׃ סburnt offering
olahH5930 →287 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Psalms 40:6Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened. Burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:5–12
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me.
- Isaiah 1:11
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood…
- 1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of…
- Psalms 51:16
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.
- Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- Hebrews 10:5–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:18; 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.