To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?
English Standard Version (ESV)
This isn't just a rhetorical question; it's a powerful setup for the entire following section that exposes the utter absurdity of idolatry. Isaiah is essentially saying, "Given everything I've just revealed about God's immense power and sovereignty, how could you possibly think a crafted object could even begin to compare?"
To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Fresh from declarations of God's unmatched power and sovereignty, Isaiah launches into a searing critique of idolatry. He challenges his audience to consider how absurd it is to compare the Creator of all things to anything made by human hands, especially when the process of making idols is described with such irony and disdain. This is a vital warning, particularly relevant to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, who were surrounded by pagan worship and tempted to fall back into the very practices God had condemned.
We often try to grasp the divine by comparing God to things we know. But what if God is fundamentally beyond comparison?
Isaiah 40:18 opens with a powerful rhetorical question: 'To whom then will you liken God?' This isn't a question seeking an answer, but rather highlighting an impossibility. The prophet has just spent verses describing God's immense power and glory – how He created the heavens, the earth, and controls all things.
Given this grandeur, Isaiah argues, there is no one and nothing that can truly represent Him.
Isaiah is essentially saying: Stop trying to fit the infinite into your finite boxes. God is God, and He is unlike anything else.
Why do we create idols? It's often about more than just worship; it's about making God manageable, like the things we create.
Ask a follow-up
The question in Isaiah 40:18 isn't just theoretical; it's a practical challenge to the human tendency towards idolatry. The commentaries point out that the folly of idolatry is a major theme here, especially relevant for the Israelites in exile who were surrounded by the pagan practices of Babylon.
Making an idol is an attempt to put God into a box we can control.
Understand the original words
El · Hebrew Noun
The supreme, covenant-keeping Creator and Sovereign of the universe. The name denotes His power, authority, and unique "otherness" that separates Him from all created beings and false deities.
The prophet Isaiah speaks during the Babylonian exile, a time when the Jewish people were surrounded by the grandeur of Babylonian idolatry. This historical context makes his rhetorical question, 'To whom then will you liken God?', a powerful challenge against the temptation to compare the true God with man-made idols.
c. 700-680 BC
Reign of Manasseh
King Manasseh's reign was marked by a widespread resurgence of idolatry and pagan worship throughout Judah, leading to significant religious and moral decline.
c. 605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon began deporting select members of the Judean nobility and skilled workers to Babylon, initiating the period of the Babylonian exile.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Temple Destruction
Nebuchadnezzar's forces destroyed Jerusalem and its sacred Temple, marking a devastating climax to the exile and a profound crisis of faith for the Jewish people.
c. 550 BC
Rise of Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great rose to power, founding the Persian Empire and setting the stage for his eventual conquest of Babylon and decree allowing Jewish return.
c. 540 BC— this verse
Isaiah's Prophecy Given Context
During the Babylonian exile, Isaiah's message of God's incomparable majesty and the futility of idolatry served as a vital spiritual anchor for the exiles, reminding them of the true God.
539 BC
Cyrus Conquers Babylon
Cyrus the Great conquered the Babylonian Empire, opening the door for the exiled Jews to return to their homeland.
This passage echoes Isaiah's sentiment, with Paul directly addressing the Athenians about not thinking God's divine nature can be represented by human-made objects like gold, silver, or stone.
Romans 1:22-23This New Testament passage describes how people have foolishly exchanged the truth about God for the worship of created things, mirroring Isaiah's critique of idolatry and misplaced comparisons.
Psalm 115:4-8Similar to Isaiah's rhetorical question, this psalm explicitly calls out the lifeless and powerless nature of idols, emphasizing that those who make and trust them become like them.
Deuteronomy 4:15-19This passage warns the Israelites against making any image or idol to represent God, reinforcing the idea that God's transcendence makes Him incomparable to anything that can be fashioned by human hands.
cambridgeIsaiah 40:18: "To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?"
18–20 . “To whom will ye liken God?” This question introduces the second distinct theme of the argument, the folly of idolatry. Although the prophet has in his mind the difficulties of Jews impressed by the fascinations of idolatry, his words are addressed not to them directly, but to men in general. The error he exposes is not the worshipping of Jehovah by images, but the universal error of thinking that…
bensonIsaiah 40:18: "To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?"
Isaiah 40:18 . To whom then will ye liken God? — This is a proper inference from the foregoing discourse of God’s infinite greatness; from whence he takes occasion to show both the folly of those that make mean and visible representations of God, and the utter inability of men or idols to give any opposition to God. And this discourse, concerning the madness of idolaters, prosecuted both here and in the f…
This isn't just a rhetorical question; it's a powerful setup for the entire following section that exposes the utter absurdity of idolatry. Isaiah is essentially saying, "Given everything I've just revealed about God's immense power and sovereignty, how could you possibly think a crafted object could even begin to compare?"
Fresh from declarations of God's unmatched power and sovereignty, Isaiah launches into a searing critique of idolatry. He challenges his audience to consider how absurd it is to compare the Creator of all things to anything made by human hands, especially when the process of making idols is described with such irony and disdain. This is a vital warning, particularly relevant to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, who were surrounded by pagan worship and tempted to fall back into the very practices God had condemned.
Fresh from declarations of God's unmatched power and sovereignty, Isaiah launches into a searing critique of idolatry. He challenges his audience to consider how absurd it is to compare the Creator of all things to anything made by human hands, especially when the process of making idols is described with such irony and disdain. This is a vital warning, particularly relevant to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, who were surrounded by pagan worship and tempted to fall back into the very practices God had condemned.
"To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?" — This isn't just a rhetorical question; it's a powerful setup for the entire following section that exposes the utter absurdity of idolatry. Isaiah is essentially saying, "Given everything I've just r…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026