Isaiah 40:22 BSB — MannaFest

Isaiah 40:22

He 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.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;

KJV

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

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Commentary

4 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah (420)

For if we consider the various nations in the whole world, from the Ocean to the Ocean, that is, from the Indian sea to the British, and from the Atlantic to the harshness of the North, where the waters freeze and beautiful amber grows, we see that the entire human race dwells in the middle like locusts. So why does the earth and ash boast?

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah (420)

(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.

Ambrose of Milan

The Six Days of Creation, Book 1, Chapter 6 (397)

Therefore, it is enough to mention the qualities and substance of the heavens that we find in the writings of Isaiah, who expressed the nature of the celestial sphere in ordinary and familiar language, saying that God has made the heavens firm like smoke, not wanting to reveal its subtle and immaterial nature. And he also speaks of its appearance, saying that God has made the heavens like a vault, within which all things in the sea and on land are enclosed. It is similarly signified when it is read: Because the Lord has stretched out the heavens.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

As a curtain “As a thin veil” - “It is usual in the summer season, and upon all occasions when a large company is to be received, to have the court sheltered from heat or inclemency of the weather by a velum, umbrella, or veil, as I shall call it; which being expanded on ropes from one side of the parapet wall to the other, may be folded or unfolded at pleasure. The psalmist seems to allude to some covering of this kind in that beautiful expression of spreading out the heavens like a curtain.” - Shaw’s Travels, p. 274.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

12 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
הַיֹּשֵׁב֙	hai.yo.Shev	the [one who] sits	H3427 →
עַל־	'al-	above	H5921 →
ח֣וּג	chug	[the] circle of	H2329 →
הָאָ֔רֶץ	ha.'A.retz	the earth	H776 →
וְיֹשְׁבֶ֖יהָ	ve.yo.she.Vei.ha	and inhabitants its	H3427 →
כַּחֲגָבִ֑ים	ka.cha.ga.Vim	[are] like grasshoppers	H2284 →
הַנּוֹטֶ֤ה	ha.no.Teh	the [one who] stretched out	H5186 →
כַדֹּק֙	kha.Dok	like <the> curtain	H1852 →
שָׁמַ֔יִם	sha.Ma.yim	[the] heavens	H8064 →
וַיִּמְתָּחֵ֥ם	vai.yim.ta.Chem	and he spread out them	H4969 →
כָּאֹ֖הֶל	ka.'O.hel	like <the> tent	H168 →
לָשָֽׁבֶת׃	la.Sha.vet	to dwell in	H3427 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
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…
leads to
- Jeremiah 10:12
  The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Isaiah 45:12
  It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.
- Zechariah 12:1
  This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man…
- Isaiah 48:13
  Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together.
- Psalms 104:2–35
  He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
Through
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?
leads to
- Acts 7:48–50
  However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
- Acts 17:24
  The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
- Matthew 5:34–35
  But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;

Featured studies on this passage

On Isaiah 40:22

The Exodus — Redemption's Master-Type

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Walks through Isaiah 40

Mazzaroth

Twelve constellation groupings; one biblical word (Job 38:32). Bullinger and Seiss read them as a gospel-arc; modern critics trace their figures to Albumazar, not Adam. The objections below are presented at full strength, and the founder's own slot on the page is his to fill.

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Walks through Isaiah 40

Names of God

God reveals himself by name. Each name given in a specific historical moment, in response to a specific situation. Twenty-eight names along a revelation timeline — from Elohim at creation to YHWH-Shammah at the restored city — closing with Jesus' "I AM."

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Walks through Isaiah 40

The Flesh

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Walks through Isaiah 40

The Shepherd

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The Star of Bethlehem — Edward Burne-Jones

Walks through Isaiah 40

The Stars

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About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Isaiah: the study guide →Read chapter 40 →The featured study →

Continue: Isaiah 40 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Isaiah

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Isaiah