イザヤ書 40:21-23 JC

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:18-26

The degradation of the Divine. The holy indignation of the prophet is aroused as he sees the Godhead so pitifully presented to the mind, so shamefully represented to the eyes of men. He has in view the power and majesty of the Supreme One, and places in contrast the creatures of human imagination, the fabrications of the human hand. We have the degradation of the Divine— I. AS IT APPEARED TO THE HEBREW PROPHET . He beheld: 1 . The power and the majesty of God , ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:19-26

Idolatry ridiculous. A strong tone of irony and ridicule runs through the description; and nothing could better illustrate by contrast that sublime faith which has just been presented to our view. I. THE IMAGE CONTRASTED WITH JEHOVAH . All our thought is composed of images, but what a descent from that image in the mind and solely there on which we have been dwelling, to yonder thing of metal, which the craftsman casts, and the goldsmith overlays with gold, and for which he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:21

Have ye not known? Hitherto the prophet has restrained himself, and confined himself to quiet sarcasm. Now he bursts out. Is there any one so insensate, so devoid of natural reason and understanding, as not to know what has been known to all from the beginning—yea, from the foundations of the earth—by "the light that is in them," viz. that God is something wholly different from this?—that he is such a One as the prophet proceeds to describe in Isaiah 40:22-24 , alike above nature and above... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:22

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth ; rather, above the vault of the earth ; above the vault of sky which seems to arch over the earth. As grasshoppers; i.e. minute, scarcely visible (comp. Numbers 13:33 ). That stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain. So in Psalms 104:2 , only that here the "curtain" is represented as one of thin gauze. The idea is common to Isaiah with Job ( Job 9:8 ), Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 10:12 ; Jeremiah 51:15 ), and Zechariah ( Zechariah... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:23

The princes … the judges ; rather, princes , judges. The entire class of such is meant, not any special individuals (comp. Psalms 107:40 ; Job 12:19-21 ). As vanity ; or, as chaos—the same word that is used in Isaiah 40:17 . read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:21

Have ye not known? - This is evidently an address to the worshippers of idols, and either designed to be addressed to the Jews themselves in the times of Manasseh, when idolatry abounded, or to all idolaters. The prophet had in the previous verses shown the manner in which the idols were made, and the folly of regarding them as objects of worship. He now turns and addresses the worshippers of these idols, as being without excuse. They might have known that these were not the true God. They had... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:22

It is he that sitteth - Margin, ‘Him that sitteth,’ that is, have you not known him? The Hebrew literally means ‘the sitter, or he sitting on the circle of the each;’ and it may be connected either with Isaiah 40:21, ‘Have ye not known him sitting on the circle of the earth?’ or with Isaiah 40:18, ‘What likeness will ye compare to him that sitteth on the circle of the earth?’ In either case the phrase is designed to show the majesty and glory of God. The word ‘sitteth’ refers to God as a... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:23

That bringeth the princes to nothing - That is, all princes and kings. No matter how great their power, their wealth, and their dignity, they are, by his hand, reduced to nothing before him. The design of this passage is to contrast the majesty of God with that of princes and nobles, and to show how far he excels them all. The general truth is therefore stated, that all monarchs are by him removed from their thrones, and consigned to nothing. The same idea is expressed in Job 12:21 :He poureth... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 40:21-24

Isaiah 40:21-24. Have ye not known Jehovah to be the only true God, the Maker and Governor of the world, and all its inhabitants? How can ye be ignorant of so evident a truth? He addresses his speech to the idolatrous Gentiles; from the beginning Namely, of the world, as the next clause explains it: were not these infinite perfections of God manifestly discovered to all mankind, by the creation of the world? It is he that sitteth As a judge or governor upon his throne; upon, or... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:12-31

Israel’s incomparable God (40:12-31)Should any doubt God’s ability to re-establish Israel in its homeland, the psalm of praise that follows drives away those doubts. God is the great Creator; the universe appears insignificant compared with him. He does whatever he wants, without any help or advice from his creatures (12-14). Israel has no need to fear Babylon or any other ruling power, for nations also are insignificant and powerless before him (15-17). How absurd, therefore, for people to... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:18-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:19-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:21

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:22

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:23

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:21

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:22

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 40:23

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 40:21-24

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:12-31

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