Isaiah 40:25 (DRB)

Passage

And to whom have ye likened me, or made me equal, saith the Holy One?

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:23 He that bringeth the searchers of secrets to nothing, that hath made the judges of the earth as vanity.

Isaiah 40:24 And surely their stock was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the earth: suddenly he hath blown upon them, and they are withered, and a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

Isaiah 40:25 And to whom have ye likened me, or made me equal, saith the Holy One?

Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things: who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by their names: by the greatness of his might, and strength, and power, not one of them was missing.

Isaiah 40:27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 24's "And surely their stock was neither planted..." into verse 26's "Lift up your eyes on high and...", so "likened" and "equal" 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 "likened" and "equal" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.