To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Parallel translations
- WEB To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?
- BSB To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?
- NKJV To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
- NASB ¶To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
- NLT To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Since God is incomparable, the prophet asks what likeness could possibly be made to represent Him.
Overview
This rhetorical question introduces Isaiah's polemic against idolatry. Because no created thing resembles the Creator, every attempt to fashion an image of God is folly. The verse upholds the second commandment and exalts God's unique, transcendent nature.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Isa 46:5To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
- 1 Sam 2:2There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
- Isa 40:25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
- Exod 15:11Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
- Acts 17:29Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
- Jer 10:6Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
- Ps 89:6For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?
- Exod 8:10And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.
- Mic 7:18Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
- Job 40:9Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
- Ps 89:8O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
- Exod 9:14For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.
- Ps 86:8–10Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
- Isa 46:9Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
- Exod 20:4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
- Deut 33:26There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.
- Heb 1:3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
- Ps 113:5Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
- Col 1:15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
- Jer 10:16The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 40:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.