To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike?
Parallel translations
- WEB “To whom will you liken me, and consider my equal, and compare me, that we may be equal?
- KJV To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
- NKJV “Towhom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike?
- NASB ¶“To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal, and compare Me, That we would be alike?
- NLT “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?
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
God asks to whom he could possibly be compared, for nothing is his equal. He is utterly unique.
Overview
Yahweh challenges his hearers to find any rival worthy of comparison, knowing none exists. The rhetorical question exposes the absurdity of likening the Creator to handmade idols. His incomparable majesty undergirds the worship due to him alone, the God revealed fully in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Isa 40:18To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?
- Isa 40:25“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
- Ps 89:6For who in the skies can compare with the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?
- Ps 113:5Who is like the LORD our God, the One enthroned on high?
- Ps 86:8O Lord, there is none like You among the gods, nor any works like Yours.
- Phil 2:6Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
- Col 1:15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
- Jer 10:16The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
- Jer 10:6–7There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
- Exod 15:11Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
- Ps 89:8O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You? O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You.
- Heb 1:3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 46:5 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.