New American Bible, Revised Edition

Isaiah 40:17-24 New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE)

17. Before him all the nations are as nought,as nothing and void he counts them.

18. To whom can you liken God?With what likeness can you confront him?

19. An idol? An artisan casts it,the smith plates it with gold,fits it with silver chains.

20. Is mulberry wood the offering?A skilled artisan picks outa wood that will not rot,Seeks to set up for himselfan idol that will not totter.

21. Do you not know? Have you not heard?Was it not told you from the beginning?Have you not understood from the founding of the earth?

22. The one who is enthroned above the vault of the earth,its inhabitants like grasshoppers,Who stretches out the heavens like a veiland spreads them out like a tent to dwell in,

23. Who brings princes to noughtand makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.

24. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,scarcely their stem rooted in the earth,When he breathes upon them and they wither,and the stormwind carries them away like straw.