Isaiah 40:17

Translations

Modern

All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.

Traditional

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

Literal

All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are counted by Him as less than nothing and emptiness.

Latin

Omnes gentes quasi non sint, sic sunt coram eo, et quasi nihilum et inane reputatæ sunt ei.

Original

Hebrew

English

All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.

Notes

Isaiah 40:17

The nations, including their leaders (Isaiah 40:23), pagan structures (41:24, 29; 44:9–11), and all enemies of God's people (41:11–12), are worth nothing apart from God.

Isaiah 40:12–17

In response to Israel's questions (spoken by the prophet), the Lord declared that he is the unmatched God, a wise and sovereign creator who governs the nations.

Isaiah 40:1–31

This chapter introduces chapters 40–66. In this section, comfort means the result of God's merciful actions toward people in the future. It includes encouragement, strength, and acceptance.

God wants to rescue his people (Isaiah 40:1–11) and is fully capable of doing so (40:12–26). The exiles needed to trust God's promises and wait for their rescue (Isaiah 40:27–31; see also 30:15–18).

Theme notes and profiles

Isaiah God’s Inscrutable Purposes in History God’s Servant Salvation in Isaiah The Sovereignty of God

Events

Prophecies of Isaiahc. 759 BC

Related verses

Psalm 62:9
Lowborn men are but a vapor; the exalted are but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.
Daniel 4:34–35
But at the end of those days I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity was restored to me. Then I praised the Most High, and I honored and glorified Him who lives forever: “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
Isaiah 29:7
All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel—even all who war against her, laying siege and attacking her—will be like a dream, like a vision in the night,
2 Corinthians 12:11
I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.
Job 25:6
…how much less man, who is but a maggot, and the son of man, who is but a worm!”

Isaiah 40:17

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Translations

Original

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Events

Related verses

Parallels

Glossary

Topics