16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as anothing, And bthey are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom then will you aliken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19aThe workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such1 a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman aTo prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21aHave you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22Itis He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who astretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a btent to dwell in.
23 He1 brings the aprinces to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 “Toa whom then will you liken Me, Or towhom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; aHe calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.
27aWhy do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. aHis understanding is unsearchable.
To whom then will ye liken God? - Since he is so great, what can resemble him? What form can be made like him? The main idea here intended to be conveyed by the prophet evidently is, that God is great and glorious, and worthy of the confidence of his people. This idea he illustrates by a reference to the attempts which had been made to make a representation of him, and by showing how vain those efforts were. He therefore states the mode in which the images of idols were usually formed, and shows how absurd it was to suppose that they could be any real representation of the true God. It is possible that this was composed in the time of Manasseh, when idolatry prevailed to a great extent in Judah, and that the prophet intended in this manner incidentally to show the folly and absurdity of it.
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Isaiah 40:18:
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