Isaiah 40:17-18
Isaiah 40:12-20 The Message (MSG)
Who has scooped up the ocean in his two hands, or measured the sky between his thumb and little finger, Who has put all the earth’s dirt in one of his baskets, weighed each mountain and hill? Who could ever have told GOD what to do or taught him his business? What expert would he have gone to for advice, what school would he attend to learn justice? What god do you suppose might have taught him what he knows, showed him how things work? Why, the nations are but a drop in a bucket, a mere smudge on a window. Watch him sweep up the islands like so much dust off the floor! There aren’t enough trees in Lebanon nor enough animals in those vast forests to furnish adequate fuel and offerings for his worship. All the nations add up to simply nothing before him— less than nothing is more like it. A minus. So who even comes close to being like God? To whom or what can you compare him? Some no-god idol? Ridiculous! It’s made in a workshop, cast in bronze, Given a thin veneer of gold, and draped with silver filigree. Or, perhaps someone will select a fine wood— olive wood, say—that won’t rot, Then hire a woodcarver to make a no-god, giving special care to its base so it won’t tip over!
Isaiah 40:17-18 King James Version (KJV)
All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Isaiah 40:17-18 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
Isaiah 40:17-18 New Century Version (NCV)
Compared to the LORD all the nations are worth nothing; to him they are less than nothing. Can you compare God to anything? Can you compare him to an image of anything?
Isaiah 40:17-18 American Standard Version (ASV)
All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Isaiah 40:17-18 New International Version (NIV)
Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him?
Isaiah 40:17-18 New King James Version (NKJV)
All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
Isaiah 40:17-18 Amplified Bible (AMP)
All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. To whom then will you liken God? Or with what likeness will you compare Him?
Isaiah 40:17-18 New Living Translation (NLT)
The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing— mere emptiness and froth. To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?