Isaiah 40:21

THE MESSAGE

Have you not been paying attention? Have you not been listening? Haven't you heard these stories all your life? Don't you understand the foundation of all things? God sits high above the round ball of earth. The people look like mere ants. He stretches out the skies like a canvas— yes, like a tent canvas to live under. He ignores what all the princes say and do. The rulers of the earth count for nothing. Princes and rulers don't amount to much. Like seeds barely rooted, just sprouted, They shrivel when God blows on them. Like flecks of chaff, they're gone with the wind.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Do you not know?Have you not heard?Has it not been declared to youfrom the beginning?Have you not consideredthe foundations of the earth?

Hebrew Names Version
Have you not known? have yet not heard? has it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood from the foundations of the eretz?

King James Version
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

English Standard Version
Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

New American Standard Bible
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

New Century Version
Surely you know. Surely you have heard. Surely from the beginning someone told you. Surely you understand how the earth was created.

Amplified Bible
Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]?

World English Bible
Have you not known? have yet not heard? has it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Know ye nothing? haue ye not heard it? hath it not bene tolde you from the beginning? haue ye not vnderstand it by the foundation of the earth?

Legacy Standard Bible
Do you not know? Have you not heard?Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Berean Standard Bible
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?

Contemporary English Version
Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Isn't it clear that God created the world?

Complete Jewish Bible
Don't you know? Don't you hear? Haven't you been told from the start? Don't you understand how the earth is set up?

Darby Translation
—Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundation of the earth?

Easy-to-Read Version
Surely you know the truth, don't you? Surely you have heard. Surely someone told you long ago. Surely you understand who made the earth.

George Lamsa Translation
Have you not heard? Have you not known? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Good News Translation
Do you not know? Were you not told long ago? Have you not heard how the world began?

Lexham English Bible
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundation of the earth?

Literal Translation
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Was it not told to you from the beginning? Did you not discern from the foundations of the earth?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Knowe ye not this? Herde ye neuer of it? Hath it not bene preached vnto you sence the hegynnynge? Haue ye not bene enfourmed of this, sence the foundacion of ye earth was layde:

American Standard Version
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Bible in Basic English
Have you no knowledge of it? has it not come to your ears? has not news of it been given to you from the first? has it not been clear to you from the time when the earth was placed on its base?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Know ye not? hear ye not? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundations of the earth?

King James Version (1611)
Haue yee not knowen? haue yee not heard? hath it not beene tolde you from the beginning? haue yee not vnderstood from the foundations of the earth?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Knowe ye nothyng? hearde ye neuer of it? hath it not ben preached vnto you since the beginning? haue ye not ben enfourmed of this by the foundation of the earth?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Will ye not know? will ye not hear? has it not been told you of old? Have ye not known the foundations of the earth?

English Revised Version
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whether ye witen not? whether ye herden not? whether it was not teld to you fro the begynnynge? whether ye vndurstoden not the foundementis of erthe?

Update Bible Version
Have you not known? have you not heard? has it not been told to you from the beginning? have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Webster's Bible Translation
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

New English Translation
Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you since the very beginning? Have you not understood from the time the earth's foundations were made?

New King James Version
Have 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?

New Living Translation
Haven't you heard? Don't you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God— the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant?

New Life Bible
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the beginning of the earth?

New Revised Standard
Have 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?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Have ye never taken note? Have ye never heard? Hath it not from the beginning, been told you? Have ye not been led to discern, from the foundations of the earth?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Do you not know? hath it not been heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood the foundations of the earth?

Revised Standard Version
Have 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?

Young's Literal Translation
Do ye not know -- do ye not hear? Hath it not been declared from the first to you? Have ye not understood [From] the foundations of the earth?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Contextual Overview

¹⁸So who even comes close to being like God? To whom or what can you compare him? Some no-god idol? Ridiculous! It's made in a workshop, cast in bronze, Given a thin veneer of gold, and draped with silver filigree. Or, perhaps someone will select a fine wood— olive wood, say—that won't rot, Then hire a woodcarver to make a no-god, giving special care to its base so it won't tip over! ²¹Have you not been paying attention? Have you not been listening? Haven't you heard these stories all your life? Don't you understand the foundation of all things? God sits high above the round ball of earth. The people look like mere ants. He stretches out the skies like a canvas— yes, like a tent canvas to live under. He ignores what all the princes say and do. The rulers of the earth count for nothing. Princes and rulers don't amount to much. Like seeds barely rooted, just sprouted, They shrivel when God blows on them. Like flecks of chaff, they're gone with the wind. ²⁵"So—who is like me? Who holds a candle to me?" says The Holy. Look at the night skies: Who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name —so magnificent! so powerful!— and never overlooks a single one?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Isaiah 27:11, Isaiah 44:20, Isaiah 46:8, Psalms 19:1-5, Psalms 115:8, Jeremiah 10:8-12, Acts 14:17, Romans 1:19-21, Romans 1:28, Romans 3:1, Romans 3:2

Reciprocal: Leviticus 4:25 - put Job 37:5 - great Isaiah 43:10 - that ye Jeremiah 27:5 - made Ephesians 4:6 - who

Cross-References

Nehemiah 2:1
It was the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king. At the hour for serving wine I brought it in and gave it to the king. I had never been hangdog in his presence before, so he asked me, "Why the long face? You're not sick are you? Or are you depressed?" That made me all the more agitated. I said, "Long live the king! And why shouldn't I be depressed when the city, the city where all my family is buried, is in ruins and the city gates have been reduced to cinders?" The king then asked me, "So what do you want?" Praying under my breath to the God-of-Heaven, I said, "If it please the king, and if the king thinks well of me, send me to Judah, to the city where my family is buried, so that I can rebuild it." The king, with the queen sitting alongside him, said, "How long will your work take and when would you expect to return?" I gave him a time, and the king gave his approval to send me. Then I said, "If it please the king, provide me with letters to the governors across the Euphrates that authorize my travel through to Judah; and also an order to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, to supply me with timber for the beams of The Temple fortress, the wall of the city, and the house where I'll be living." The generous hand of my God was with me in this and the king gave them to me. When I met the governors across The River (the Euphrates) I showed them the king's letters. The king even sent along a cavalry escort. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very upset, angry that anyone would come to look after the interests of the People of Israel. And so I arrived in Jerusalem. After I had been there three days, I got up in the middle of the night, I and a few men who were with me. I hadn't told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with us was the one I was riding. Under cover of night I went past the Valley Gate toward the Dragon's Fountain to the Dung Gate looking over the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken through and whose gates had been burned up. I then crossed to the Fountain Gate and headed for the King's Pool but there wasn't enough room for the donkey I was riding to get through. So I went up the valley in the dark continuing my inspection of the wall. I came back in through the Valley Gate. The local officials had no idea where I'd gone or what I was doing—I hadn't breathed a word to the Jews, priests, nobles, local officials, or anyone else who would be working on the job. Then I gave them my report: "Face it: we're in a bad way here. Jerusalem is a wreck; its gates are burned up. Come—let's build the wall of Jerusalem and not live with this disgrace any longer." I told them how God was supporting me and how the king was backing me up. They said, "We're with you. Let's get started." They rolled up their sleeves, ready for the good work. When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they laughed at us, mocking, "Ha! What do you think you're doing? Do you think you can cross the king?" I shot back, "The God-of-Heaven will make sure we succeed. We're his servants and we're going to work, rebuilding. You can keep your nose out of it. You get no say in this—Jerusalem's none of your business!"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Have ye not known?] This is the speech of the prophet, directed to the idolaters, appealing to their own natural knowledge, who, from the light of nature, might know that idols were nothing, had no divinity in them: that it is God that made the earth and governs the world, and who only ought to be worshipped:

have ye not heard? by tradition from the ancients, from your forefathers, who received it from theirs, and have delivered it to you:

hath it not been told you from the beginning? from the beginning of your states and kingdoms, and even from the beginning of the world, by the wisest and best of men that have been in it, that those things are true before related, and what follow:

have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? the being of God, the invisible things of him, his eternal power and Godhead, from the things that are made, even from his founding of the earth; as well as such knowledge and understanding has been as early as that, and might be continued from it: or,

have ye not understood the foundations of the earth y? what the earth is founded upon, and who laid the foundations of it; no other than that divine Being described in the next words.

y הלא הבינותם מוסדות הארץ "nonne intelligetis fundamenta terrae?" Pagninus, Montanus; "annon intellexistis?" Vatablus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Have ye not known? - This is evidently an address to the worshippers of idols, and either designed to be addressed to the Jews themselves in the times of Manasseh, when idolatry abounded, or to all idolaters. The prophet had in the previous verses shown the manner in which the idols were made, and the folly of regarding them as objects of worship. He now turns and addresses the worshippers of these idols, as being without excuse. They might have known that these were not the true God. They had had abundant opportunity of learning his existence and of becoming acquainted with his majesty and glory. Tradition had informed them of this, and the creation of the earth demonstrated his greatness and power. The prophet, therefore, asks them whether they had not known this? Whether their conduct was the result of ignorance? And the question implies emphatically that they had known, or had abundant opportunity to know of the existence and majesty of God. This was emphatically true of the Jews, and yet they were constantly falling into idolatrous worship.

From the beginning - Hebrew, ‘From the head,’ that is, from the very commencement of the world. Has it not been communicated by tradition, from age to age, that there is one God, and that he is the Creator and upholder of all things? This was particularly the case with the Jews, who had had this knowledge from the very commencement of their history, and they were, therefore, entirely without excuse in their tendencies to idolatry.

From the foundations of the earth - Have you not learned the existence and greatness of God from the fact that the world has been made, and that it demonstrates the existence and perfection of God? The sacred writers often speak of the earth as resting on a foundation, as upheld, etc.:

For he hath founded it upon the seas,

And established it upon the floods.

(Psalms 24:2; see also Proverbs 8:29) Perhaps here, however, the word ‘foundation’ refers rather to the time than to the manner in which the earth is made, and corresponds to the phrase ‘from the beginning;’ and the sense may be, ‘Has it not been understood ever since the earth was founded? Has not the tradition of the existence and perfections of God been unbroken and constant?’ The argument is, that the existence and greatness of God were fully known by tradition and by his works; and that it was absurd to attempt to form an image of that God who had laid the foundations of the world.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 40:21. Have ye not known — On this verse Kimchi has a very interesting comment, an extract of which I subjoin. "The whole world may be considered as a house built up; heaven its roof; the stars its lamps; and the fruits of the earth its table spread. The Master of the house is God, blessed for ever; and man is the steward into whose hand all the business of the house is given. If he always consider in his heart that the Master of the house is continually over him, and that he keeps his eye upon his work, and if in consequence he acts wisely, he shall find favour in the eyes of the Master of the house. But if he find wickedness in the house, then will he remove him מן פקידתו min pekidutho, 'from his stewardship.' The foolish steward does not think of this; for as his eyes do not see the Master of the house, he saith in his heart, 'I will eat and drink what I find in this house, and will take my pleasure in it; nor shall I be careful whether there be a master over this house or not.' When the Lord of the house marks this, he comes and expels him from the house speedily, and with great anger; therefore it is said, Isaiah 40:23, He bringeth the princes to nothing." It seems that this parable had been long in use among the Jews, as our blessed Lord alludes to it in his parable of the unjust steward. Or did the rabbin, finding it to his purpose, steal the parable from the Gospel? In both places it has great and peculiar beauties.

Have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth - "Have ye not understood it from the foundations of the earth?"] The true reading seems to be ממוסדות mimmosedoth, to answer to מראש merosh in the foregoing line. It follows a word ending with מ mem, and out of three mems concurring, it was an easy mistake to drop the middle one.