Bible/Isaiah/40

Isaiah 40:15

40:14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? instructed: Heb. made him understand understanding: Heb. understandings?
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

KJV

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Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.

Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he takes up the isles as a very little thing.

40:16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

What does Isaiah 40:15 mean?

Isaiah 40:15 is a verse in the book of Isaiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include גּוֹי (gôwy), מַר (mar), דְּלִי (dᵉlîy).

Hebrew interlinear

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Behold,
the
nationsגּוֹיgôwy/go'-ee/H1471a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts
are
as
a
dropמַרmar/mar/H4752a drop
of
a
bucket,דְּלִיdᵉlîy/del-ee'/H1805a pail or jar (for drawing water)
and
are
countedחָשַׁבchâshab/khaw-shab'/H2803properly, to plait or interpenetrate, i.e. (literally) to weave or (generally) to fabricate; figuratively, to plot or contrive (usually in a malicious sense); hence (from the mental effort) to think, regard, value, compute
as
the
small
dustשַׁחַקshachaq/shakh'-ak/H7834a powder (as beaten small); by analogy, a thin vapor; by extension, the firmament
of
the
balance:מֹאזֵןmôʼzên/mo-zane'/H3976(only in the dual) a pair of scales
behold,
he
taketh
upנָטַלnâṭal/naw-tal'/H5190to lift; by implication, to impose
the
islesאִיʼîy/ee/H339properly, a habitable spot (as desirable); dry land, a coast, an island
as
a
very
little
thing.דַּקdaq/dak/H1851crushed, i.e. (by implication) small or thin

Topics

Idolatry

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Isaiah 40:15.

Genesis 10:5

By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

Frequently asked questions

What does Isaiah 40:15 say?

Isaiah 40:15 (King James Version) reads: "Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing."

Is Isaiah 40:15 in the Old or New Testament?

Isaiah 40:15 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Isaiah.

Reflect

As you read Isaiah 40:15, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

Plan a sermon or study on Isaiah 40:15
40:14Read all of Isaiah 4040:16