Isaiah 40:18 (WEB)

Passage

To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?

Nearby Context

Isaiah 40:16 Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering.

Isaiah 40:17 All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.

Isaiah 40:18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?

Isaiah 40:19 A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.

Isaiah 40:20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up a carved image for him that will 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 like nothing before..." into verse 19's "A workman has cast an image and...", 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.