Isaiah 40 · Verse 18

Isaiah 40:18

To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Isaiah 40:18, King James Version

Isaiah 40:18 in other translations

BSBTo whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?
WEBTo whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?
ASVTo whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
YLTAnd unto whom do ye liken God, And what likeness do ye compare to Him?
DARBYTo whom then will ye liken God? and what likeness will ye compare unto him?
BBEWhom then is God like, in your opinion? or what will you put forward as a comparison with him?
WebsterTo whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare to him?

What does Isaiah 40:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
18. Which of the heathen idols, then, is to be compared to this Almighty God? This passage, if not written (as Barnes thinks) so late as the idolatrous times of Manasseh, has at least a prospective warning reference to them and subsequent reigns; the result of the chastisement of Jewish idolatry in the Babylonish captivity was that thenceforth after the restoration the Jews never fell into it. Perhaps these prophecies here may have tended to that result (see 2Ki 23:26, 27).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 40:18-26
Whatever we esteem or love, fear or hope in, more than God, that creature we make equal with God, though we do not make images or worship them. He that is so poor, that he has scarcely a sacrifice to offer, yet will not be without a god of his own. They spared no cost upon their idols; we grudge what is spent in the service of our God. To prove the greatness of God, the prophet appeals to all ages and nations. Those who are ignorant of this, are willingly ignorant. God has the command of all creatures, and of all created things. The prophet directs us to use our reason as well as our senses; to consider who created the hosts of heaven, and to pay our homage to Him. Not one fails to fulfil his will. And let us not forget, that He spake all the promises, and engaged to perform them.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Isaiah 40:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאֶל\־ve.'el-and toH413
מִ֖יmiwhom?H4310
תְּדַמְּי֣וּןte.da.me.Yunwill you liken !H1819
אֵ֑ל'ElGodH410
וּמַה\־u.mah-and what?H4100
דְּמ֖וּתde.MutlikenessH1823
תַּ֥עַרְכוּTa.'ar.khuwill you compareH6186
לֽוֹ\׃loto him

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 40:18

  • Isaiah 46:5

    To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?

  • 1 Samuel 2:2

    There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

  • Isaiah 40:25

    To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

  • Exodus 15:11

    Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

  • Acts 17:29

    Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.

  • Psalms 89:6

    For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?

  • Jeremiah 10:6

    Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.

  • Job 40:9

    Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

  • Exodus 8:10

    And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God.

  • Micah 7:18

    Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

  • Psalms 89:8

    O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

  • Exodus 9:14

    For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
25; 46:5,9; Ex 8:10; 9:14; 15:11; 20:4; De 33:26; 1Sa 2:2; Job 40:9
Ps 86:8-10; 89:6,8; 113:5; Jer 10:6,16; Mic 7:18; Ac 17:29
Col 1:15; Heb 1:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 40:17

    All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

  • Isaiah 40:18

    To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

  • Isaiah 40:19

    The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

Read all of Isaiah 40

Isaiah 40:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿A qué pues haréis semejante á Dios, ó qué imagen le compondréis?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		À qui donc comparerez-vous ✶Dieu, et à quelle ressemblance l’égalerez-vous?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und wem wollt ihr Gott vergleichen? Und was für ein Gleichnis wollt ihr ihm an die Seite stellen?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cui ergo similem fecisti Deum? aut quam imaginem ponetis ei?