12 Who has measured the waters(A) in the hollow of his hand,(B)
    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?(C)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
    or weighed the mountains on the scales
    and the hills in a balance?(D)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[a](E) of the Lord,
    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?(F)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
    and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,(G)
    or showed him the path of understanding?(H)

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
    they are regarded as dust on the scales;(I)
    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(J)
16 Lebanon(K) is not sufficient for altar fires,
    nor its animals(L) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(M) are as nothing;(N)
    they are regarded by him as worthless
    and less than nothing.(O)

18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(P)
    To what image(Q) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(R) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith(S) overlays it with gold(T)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
    selects wood(U) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
    to set up an idol(V) that will not topple.(W)

21 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?(X)
Has it not been told(Y) you from the beginning?(Z)
    Have you not understood(AA) since the earth was founded?(AB)
22 He sits enthroned(AC) above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.(AD)
He stretches out the heavens(AE) like a canopy,(AF)
    and spreads them out like a tent(AG) to live in.(AH)
23 He brings princes(AI) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(AJ)
24 No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root(AK) in the ground,
than he blows(AL) on them and they wither,(AM)
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(AN)

25 “To whom will you compare me?(AO)
    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(AP)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(AQ)
    Who created(AR) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(AS) one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(AT)
    not one of them is missing.(AU)

27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”?(AV)
28 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?(AW)
The Lord is the everlasting(AX) God,
    the Creator(AY) of the ends of the earth.(AZ)
He will not grow tired or weary,(BA)
    and his understanding no one can fathom.(BB)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:13 Or mind

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