Isaiah 46:5
in Isaiah 46To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
KJV
To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 46
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
To whom will ye liken me - (see the notes at Isa 40:18, Isa 40:25). The design of this and the following verses is to show the folly of idolatry, and the vanity of trusting in idols. This is a subject that the prophet often dwells on. The argument here is derived from the fact that the idols of Babylon were unable to defend the city, and were themselves carried away in triumph Isa 46:1-
This site's exposition
To whom will you liken Me
on Isaiah 46:5-7
Verse 5 asks, “To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike”, and the answer is the idol workshop. They “pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales”. A god men make and carry stands against the God who makes and carries his people.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 5 and following) To whom have you likened me, and equalized, and compared me, and made me similar? You who pour out gold from the bag, and weigh silver on the scales, hiring a goldsmith to make a god, and they fall down and worship. They carry him on their shoulders, carrying and placing him in his place, and he will stand, and he will not be moved from his place. But when they cry out to him, he will not hear: he will not save them from distress. LXX: To whom do you liken me?
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he shows the worthlessness of the idols, showing the foolishness of those who serve idols, both as to intention, for they wish to make something equal to God: to whom have you likened me, above (Isa 40:25) has the same thing.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): To whom will you liken me? It is absurd to think of representing an infinite and eternal Spirit by the figure of any creature whatsoever. It is to change his truth into a lie and to turn his glory into shame.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
To whom will ye liken me?....
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְמִ֥י | lemi | to whom? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| תְדַמְי֖וּנִי | tedamyuni | will you liken me | H1819 → | 30 times |
| וְתַשְׁו֑וּ | vetashvu | and you may make [me] equal? | H7737 → | 21 times |
| וְתַמְשִׁל֖וּנִי | vetamshiluni | and will you compare? me | H4911 → | |
| וְנִדְמֶֽה׃ | venidmeh | and we may be alike | H1819 → | 30 times |
לְמִ֥יto whom?
lemiH4310 →423 times
תְדַמְי֖וּנִיwill you liken me
tedamyuniH1819 →30 times
וְתַשְׁו֑וּand you may make [me] equal?
vetashvuH7737 →21 times
וְתַמְשִׁל֖וּנִיand will you compare? me
vetamshiluniH4911 →
וְנִדְמֶֽה׃and we may be alike
venidmehH1819 →30 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 40:18To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:25
“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 15:11
Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 89:6
For who in the skies can compare with the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- 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.
- Isaiah 40:25
Through
Psalms 113:5Who is like the LORD our God, the One enthroned on high?
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:6
There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 10:6
Through
Isaiah 40:25“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:18
To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?
- Isaiah 40:18
Through
Psalms 89:6For who in the skies can compare with the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?
it leads to
- Psalms 86:8
O Lord, there is none like You among the gods, nor any works like Yours.
- Psalms 86:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.