Isaiah 40:25
in Isaiah 40“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One.
KJV
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
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This verse in Isaiah 40
Commentary
8 notes on this verseGod is one thing, and what belongs to God is another thing.… How will you employ in a comparison with God an object as your example, [such as a king] which fails in all the purposes that belong to a comparison? Why, when supreme power among kings cannot evidently be varied but only unique and singular, is an exception made in the case of him (of all others) who is King of kings, and (from the exceeding greatness of his power and the subjection of all other ranks to him) the very summit, as it were, of dominion?
This site's exposition
To whom will you liken Me
on Isaiah 40:25-26
The question returns in the mouth of the Holy One Himself, To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal? The answer commanded is observation, to see the One who leads forth the starry host and calls each one by name. Not one of them is missing.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(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.
To him who has performed works, to him who has accomplished these works and who continually goes on performing them, to whom do you compare him? What mark of respect do you offer to him that is worthy of him?
The Medieval Church1 voice
He sets out the conclusion: and to whom have you likened me? Who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord? (Ps 89:6).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal, saith the Holy One? Or be upon a level with? since the greatest of men on earth are brought to nothing by him, and are no more: this is repeated from Isa 40:18 and supported with fresh strength of argument, to show that there is nothing whatever, that is a fit likeness and similitude, by which to represent the Lord.
This shows the folly and absurdity, (1.) Of corporal idolatry, making visible images of him who is invisible, imagining the image to be animated by the deity, and the deity to be presentiated by the image, which, as it was an instance of the corruption of the human nature, so it was an intolerable injury to the honour of the divine nature.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
To whom then will ye liken me? - (See Isa 40:18) The prophet having thus set forth the majesty and glory of God, asks now with great emphasis, what could be an adequate and proper representation of such a God. And if God was such a Being, how great was the folly of idolatry, and how vain all their confidence in the gods which their own hands had made.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִ֥י | mi | whom? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| תְדַמְּי֖וּנִי | tedameyuni | will you liken me | H1819 → | 30 times |
| וְאֶשְׁוֶ֑ה | veeshveh | and I may be equal? | H7737 → | 21 times |
| יֹאמַ֖ר | yomar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| קָדֽוֹשׁ׃ | kadoosh | [the] holy [one] | H6918 → | 116 times |
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
מִ֥יwhom?
miH4310 →423 times
תְדַמְּי֖וּנִיwill you liken me
tedameyuniH1819 →30 times
וְאֶשְׁוֶ֑הand I may be equal?
veeshvehH7737 →21 times
יֹאמַ֖רhe says
yomarH559 →5305 times
קָדֽוֹשׁ׃[the] holy [one]
kadooshH6918 →116 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
Deuteronomy 5:8You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
- Exodus 20:4
Through
Isaiah 40:18To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?
it leads to
- Isaiah 46:5
To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike?
- 1 Samuel 2:2
There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
- Exodus 15:11
Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
- Acts 17:29
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
- Jeremiah 10:6
There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
- Isaiah 46:5
Through
Deuteronomy 4:33Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived?
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:24
and you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live…
- Judges 6:22
When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”
- Deuteronomy 5:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
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About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; 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; Tertullian, AGAINST MARCION 1.4; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:40.25 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.