Isaiah 40:25 kjv
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
Isaiah 40:25 nkjv
"To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One.
Isaiah 40:25 niv
"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.
Isaiah 40:25 esv
To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Isaiah 40:25 nlt
"To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One.
Isaiah 40 25 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 40:18 | "To whom then will you liken God?" | rhetorical question |
| Isa 40:26 | "Lift up your eyes on high and see" | creation points to God |
| Psa 8:1 | "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" | God's glory in creation |
| Psa 16:8 | "I have set the LORD always before me" | abiding in God's presence |
| Psa 40:5 | "Many, O LORD my God, are the wonderful works you have done" | God's works are abundant |
| Psa 50:21 | "you thought that I was altogether like you" | God's judgment on misperception |
| Psa 97:9 | "For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth" | God's supremacy |
| Psa 145:3 | "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised" | God's greatness |
| Prov 30:4 | "Who has ascended into heaven and has come down?" | God's unique knowledge |
| Jer 10:6-7 | "There is none like you, O LORD" | God's uniqueness |
| Jer 10:14 | "Every goldsmith is put to shame by the graven image" | futility of idols |
| Dan 4:34-35 | "all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing" | God's sovereignty |
| Rom 11:33 | "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" | unfathomable God |
| 1 Cor 2:16 | "who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" | human inability to grasp God |
| Col 1:15 | "He is the image of the invisible God" | Christ's divine nature |
| Col 1:17 | "and in him all things hold together" | Christ's sustaining power |
| Heb 1:3 | "sustaining all things by his powerful word" | Christ's work |
| 1 John 4:12 | "If we love one another, God abides in us" | God's indwelling |
Isaiah 40 verses
Isaiah 40 25 Meaning
This verse asserts that God's greatness and holiness are unparalleled, far surpassing any created being or image that humanity might conceive. It highlights God's supreme sovereignty and the absolute impossibility of comparing anyone or anything to Him. His very nature elevates Him above all creation and any human attempt at representation.
Isaiah 40 25 Context
Chapter 40 of Isaiah serves as a powerful message of comfort and hope to the exiled Israelites in Babylon. The prophet Isaiah addresses them directly, speaking the words of God to alleviate their despair and restore their faith. He contrasts the futility of idol worship with the omnipotence of the true God, emphasizing God's unique nature and His plan for Israel's redemption. This verse appears within a section (Isa 40:18-31) that systematically dismantles the perceived power of idols and elevates the incomparable God. Historically, the exiles faced a sophisticated polytheistic culture, making it crucial to reinforce their monotheistic beliefs.
Isaiah 40 25 Word Analysis
מִי (mi): "Who" - An interrogative pronoun introducing a question.
כָּֽמֹונִי (kamoni): "like Me" - From the root כֹּה (koh), meaning "thus" or "like this," referring back to God's statement of His own nature. The suffix "-ni" is a first-person possessive pronoun, meaning "me."
וּמִי בְּרוּחִי (u'mi b'ruchi): "and who is like Me?" (literally "and who with my ruach?") - "u'" is a conjunction, "and." "mi" again, "who." "b'" is a preposition, "with." "ruchi" is from רוּחַ (ruach), which can mean spirit, wind, or breath. In this context, it points to God's inherent nature, His very being or essence. It's not a comparison to a similar being, but a question about who could possibly compare, even with access to God's own spirit or essence. This emphasizes God's absolute distinctiveness.
הִשְׁוָה (hishvah): "has likened" or "has compared" - From the root שׁוה (shavah), meaning "to be like," "to resemble," or "to compare." The causative (Hiphil) conjugation here means "to make like" or "to cause to resemble." It implies an act of deliberate comparison or equalization.
Words-group analysis: The phrase "Who is like Me, and who is like my spirit?" forms a parallel question, reinforcing the idea that no created being, no matter how powerful or how much it might share in God's blessings (symbolized by "my spirit"), could ever be equal to God. The entire verse functions as a declaration and a rhetorical challenge against the idolatry prevalent among the exiles, challenging them to find any earthly power or manufactured image that can stand in the same category as the eternal Creator.
Isaiah 40 25 Bonus Section
The concept of comparing oneself to God or even presuming to know God's thoughts is addressed elsewhere in scripture. For instance, Romans 11:34 marvels at the depth of God's wisdom, asking, "Who has known the mind of the Lord?" This echoes Isaiah's challenge by highlighting the inaccessibility of divine knowledge to human intellect. Similarly, 1 Corinthians 2:16 asks, "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" These New Testament passages underscore the profound transcendence of God that Isaiah articulates. The prophets' confrontation with idolatry was a continuous theme; throughout Isaiah and other prophetic books, the contrast between the living God and lifeless idols serves to purify Israel's understanding of true worship. This verse serves as a powerful refutation of all false gods and a summons to acknowledge the unparalleled holiness of Yahweh.
Isaiah 40 25 Commentary
This verse is a foundational declaration of God's absolute sovereignty and incomparable nature. It's a direct challenge to any attempt to diminish God or place Him on the same level as created beings or idols. God's "spirit" here refers to His essential being, His life-giving power, His inherent character – all of which are unique and cannot be replicated or rivaled. The verse emphasizes that no one has the capacity to even make a comparison because there is no common ground for such an evaluation. Any perceived similarity is ultimately superficial and misrepresents God's true holiness and might. This understanding is crucial for believers as it anchors their worship in the singular greatness of the one true God, free from the confusion of polytheism or idolatry.