Isaiah 40:18 (ASV)

Passage

To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.

Isaiah 40:17 All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity.

Isaiah 40:18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

Isaiah 40:19 The image, a workman hath cast [it], and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth [for it] silver chains.

Isaiah 40:20 He that is too impoverished for [such] an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "liken", "likeness", and "compare". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "liken" and "likeness", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "All the nations are as nothing before..." into verse 19's "The image a workman hath cast it...", so "liken" and "likeness" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "liken" and "likeness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.