Bible Strands
Isaiah 40:12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks to Judah in Babylonian exile, opening the second major section of Isaiah (ch. 40–55) with a word of comfort. The speaker is YHWH addressing His own people who feel powerless under foreign rule.
The words — sho'el (שׁעל) is the hollow or concavity of the hand; the waters are measured in a cupped palm. Zeret (זֶרֶת) is the span between thumb and middle finger, a small unit applied here to the heavens.
The thread — Proverbs 30:4 asks who gathered the wind in his hands and bound the waters in his cloak; Job 38:4 asks where the reader was when the foundations were laid. Hebrews 1:10 calls the heavens the work of God's hands.
Why it lands — The questions are not seeking an answer; they fix a scale against which human powerlessness is measured. The reader is asked to see that the same hand that carries lambs (v. 11) measured the cosmos, so the comfort is grounded in capacity, not sentiment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
Cross-references
- Proverbs 30:4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!
- Hebrews 1:10 And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Job 38:4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
- Psalms 102:25 In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Isaiah 48:13 Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together.
- Proverbs 8:26 before He made the land or fields, or any of the dust of the earth.
- Job 11:7 Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?
- Job 28:25 When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
- Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- Psalms 104:2 He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,