Isaiah 40:20-23 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:12-31

THE MIGHT AND GREATNESS OF GOD CONTRASTED WITH THE WEAKNESS OF MAN AND THE FUTILITY OF IDOLS . If captive Israel is to be induced to turn' to God, and so hasten the time of its restoration to his favour and to its own land, it must be by rising to a worthy conception of the nature and attributes of the Almighty. The prophet, therefore, in the remainder of this chapter, paints in glorious language the power and greatness, dud at the same time the mercy, of God,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:16-26

The hopelessness and the simplicity of Divine service. "Lebanon is not sufficient to burn," etc.; "Not one faileth." If we were asked whether it was a very difficult or a very simple thing to serve the Lord, we should say, "It is both the one and the other; everything depends upon the way and the spirit in which we proceed." We learn— I. THAT MERE QUANTITY OF SERVICE IS VAIN AND FUTILE . "Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor will [all] the beasts thereof suffice... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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 40:20

He that is so impoverished , etc.; rather, he that can only make a poor offering , i.e. that cannot spend much on religion. Chooseth a tree ; rather, chooseth wood—goes to the carpenter, and selects a good sound block of wood, out of which his idol shall be made. After this he has to find a skilful workman, who will carve his image for him and set it up, so that it shall not shake. As Delitzsch observes, "The thing carries its own satire" in the mere plain description of it. Is such... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:20

The distinguishing love of God. "He calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might "for that he is strong in power." The infinitude of God is no argument at all against his observance of the individual and the minute; rightly regarded, it is a strong inference in favour of it. Because he is infinite in wisdom he compasses all that is most vast and extensive; and for the same reason , "by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power"—he has a perfect mastery over... 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 40:20

He that is so impoverished - So poor. So it is generally supposed that the word used here is to be understood, though interpreters have not been entirely agreed in regard to its signification. The Septuagint renders the phrase, ‘The carpenter chooseth a sound piece of wood.’ The Chaldee. ‘He cuts down an ash, a tree which will not rot.’ Vulgate, ‘Perhaps he chooses a tree which is incorruptible.’ Jarchi renders it, ‘He who is accustomed to examine, and to judge between the wood which is... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:12-31

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:16-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:18-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:19-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:20

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 40:20

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