Isaiah 40:21
in Isaiah 40Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
KJV
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
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This verse in Isaiah 40
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(Vers. 21 seqq.) Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been announced to you from the beginning? Have you not understood the foundations of the earth? He sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like locusts. He spreads out the heavens like nothing, and expands them as a tent to dwell in. He makes secret things known as if they were not. He has made the rulers of the earth as nothing. They are not planted, nor are they sown, nor do their roots take hold in the earth.
This site's exposition
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
on Isaiah 40:21-22
The prophet turns to Israel with four questions meant to shame forgetfulness. The God described here sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, its dwellers like grasshoppers below. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and Delitzsch notes that the Hebrew word for circle is a geometric term.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
From the beginning, [Isaiah] says, have I not taught you the weakness of the idols? Do you not know who it is who set the earth on its foundations with a view to assuring its stability?
The divinely inspired Scripture was not silent. For the knowledge of the truth from above was veiled through the patriarchs, through the law and the prophets. But this was not the case when the only-begotten Word of God came among us as a man to illuminate those on the earth. This was the last days when the leader of those who oppose spiritual deception came. It was the first of the attacks on idolatry. For the choir of the saints never stops attacking such deception, showing how loathsome it is while at the same time making known the [true] Maker and Lord of the universe.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he convicts the one who errs. And first, from the natural law, which prescribes: do you not know, by natural reason, that idols are not gods?; and from the written law, which prohibits: has it not been told you? Have they not heard? (Rom …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This is understood not only ever since the beginning of the world, but from and by the origin of the universe. It is founded upon the foundation of the earth. The invisible things of God are clearly seen from the creation of the world, Rom. i.
Have ye not known?
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Doubtless he is still as able to save his church as he was at first to make the world. (1.) He has wisdom to contrive the salvation, and that wisdom is never at a loss: There is no searching of his understanding, so as to countermine the counsels of it and defeat its intentions; no, nor so as to determine what he will do, for he has ways by himself, ways in the sea.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Have ye not known? - This is evidently an address to the worshippers of idols, and either designed to be addressed to the Jews themselves in the times of Manasseh, when idolatry abounded, or to all idolaters. The prophet had in the previous verses shown the manner in which the idols were made, and the folly of regarding them as objects of worship. He now turns and addresses the worshippers of these idols, as being without excuse. They might have known that these were not the true God.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The question emphatically implies, they had known. from the beginning-- (Isa 41:4, 26; God is the beginning (Re 1:8). The tradition handed down from the very first, of the creation of all things by God at the beginning, ought to convince you of His omnipotence and of the folly of idolatry.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Have ye not known - On this verse Kimchi has a very interesting comment, an extract of which I subjoin. “The whole world may be considered as a house built up; heaven its roof; the stars its lamps; and the fruits of the earth its table spread. The Master of the house is God, blessed for ever; and man is the steward into whose hand all the business of the house is given. If he always consider in his heart that the Master of the house is continually over him, and that he keeps his eye upon his work, and if in consequence he acts wisely, he shall find favor in the eyes of the Master of the house. But if he find wickedness in the house, then will he remove him מן פקידתו min pekidutho, ‘from his stewardship.’ The foolish steward does not think of this; for as his eyes do not see the Master of the house, he saith in his heart, ‘I will eat and drink what I find in this house, and will take my pleasure in it; nor shall I be careful whether there be a master over this house or not.’ When the Lord of the house marks this, he comes and expels him from the house speedily, and with great anger; therefore it is said, Isa 40:23, He bringeth the princes to nothing.” It seems that this parable had been long in use among the Jews, as our blessed Lord alludes to it in his parable of the unjust steward. Or did the rabbin, finding it to his purpose, steal the parable from the Gospel? In both places it has great and peculiar beauties. Have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth “Have ye not understood it from the foundations of the earth?” - The true reading seems to be ממוסדות mimmosedoth, to answer to מראש merosh in the foregoing line. It follows a word ending with מ mem, and out of three mems concurring, it was an easy mistake to drop the middle one.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲל֤וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵֽדְעוּ֙ | tedeu | do you know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| הֲל֣וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁמָ֔עוּ | tishmau | do you hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| הֲל֛וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֻגַּ֥ד | hugad | has it been told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| מֵרֹ֖אשׁ | merosh | from [the] beginning | H7218 → | 599 times |
| לָכֶ֑ם | lakhem | to you | ||
| הֲלוֹא֙ | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֲבִ֣ינֹתֶ֔ם | havinotem | have you understood | H995 → | 170 times |
| מוֹסְד֖וֹת | mosdot | [the] foundations of | H4146 → | |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
הֲל֤וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
תֵֽדְעוּ֙do you know
tedeuH3045 →945 times
הֲל֣וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁמָ֔עוּdo you hear
tishmauH8085 →1159 times
הֲל֛וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
הֻגַּ֥דhas it been told
hugadH5046 →370 times
מֵרֹ֖אשׁfrom [the] beginning
meroshH7218 →599 times
לָכֶ֑םto you
lakhem
הֲלוֹא֙¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
הֲבִ֣ינֹתֶ֔םhave you understood
havinotemH995 →170 times
מוֹסְד֖וֹת[the] foundations of
mosdotH4146 →
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
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 48:13Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together.
it leads to
- Psalms 102:25
In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Hebrews 1:10–12
And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Exodus 20:11
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath…
- Isaiah 45:18
For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be…
- Isaiah 40:26
Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one…
- Psalms 102:25
Through
Acts 14:17Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
it leads to
- Romans 1:19–20
For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
- Romans 1:19–20
Through
Psalms 50:6And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah
it leads to
- Psalms 97:6
The heavens proclaim His righteousness; all the peoples see His glory.
- Psalms 89:5
The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD— Your faithfulness as well— in the assembly of the holy ones.
- Psalms 97:6
Where this verse is studied
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About Isaiah
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 3:5.40:15-21; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; 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; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:40.21 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.