Add parallel Print Page Options

18 To whom then have you likened God? or what image will you make for him?

19 Hath the workman cast a graven statue? or hath the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?

20 He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot: the skillful workman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.

21 Do you not know? hath it not been heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood the foundations of the earth?

22 It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.

23 He that bringeth the searchers of secrets to nothing, that hath made the judges of the earth as vanity.

24 And surely their stock was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the earth: suddenly he hath blown upon them, and they are withered, and a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

25 And to whom have ye likened me, or made me equal, saith the Holy One?

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things: who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by their names: by the greatness of his might, and strength, and power, not one of them was missing.

27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

28 Knowest thou not, or hast thou not heard? the Lord is the everlasting God, who hath created the ends of the earth: he shall not faint, nor labour, neither is there any searching out of his wisdom.

29 It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force and might to them that are not.

30 Youths shall faint, and labour, and young men shall fall by infirmity.

31 But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Read full chapter

18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(A)
    To what image(B) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(C) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith(D) overlays it with gold(E)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
    selects wood(F) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
    to set up an idol(G) that will not topple.(H)

21 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?(I)
Has it not been told(J) you from the beginning?(K)
    Have you not understood(L) since the earth was founded?(M)
22 He sits enthroned(N) above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.(O)
He stretches out the heavens(P) like a canopy,(Q)
    and spreads them out like a tent(R) to live in.(S)
23 He brings princes(T) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(U)
24 No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root(V) in the ground,
than he blows(W) on them and they wither,(X)
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(Y)

25 “To whom will you compare me?(Z)
    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(AA)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(AB)
    Who created(AC) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(AD) one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(AE)
    not one of them is missing.(AF)

27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”?(AG)
28 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?(AH)
The Lord is the everlasting(AI) God,
    the Creator(AJ) of the ends of the earth.(AK)
He will not grow tired or weary,(AL)
    and his understanding no one can fathom.(AM)
29 He gives strength(AN) to the weary(AO)
    and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men(AP) stumble and fall;(AQ)
31 but those who hope(AR) in the Lord
    will renew their strength.(AS)
They will soar on wings like eagles;(AT)
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.(AU)

Read full chapter