Bible Strands
Isaiah 40:22
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses Israel, contrasting human frailty with Yahweh’s sovereign rule in a section that establishes divine comfort through judgment and creation.
The words — The text uses ח֣וּג (chug), literally a circle or compass-drawn circumference, to describe the earth, and הַ/נּוֹטֶ֤ה (ha./no.Teh), meaning the one who stretches out, to describe the heavens.
The thread — The concept of a circular earth appears in Proverbs 8:27, the tent imagery for the stretched heavens appears in Psalms 104:2, and the phrase "stretch out the heavens" reappears in Isaiah 42:5.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that human rulers and earthly institutions are transient, while the Creator’s authority over the cosmos remains absolute and unchallenged.
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
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Cross-references
- Proverbs 8:27 I was there when He established the heavens, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
- Psalms 104:2 He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
- Isaiah 42:5 This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:
- Isaiah 66:1 This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- Job 22:14 Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven.’
- Jeremiah 10:12 The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
- Numbers 13:33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
- Job 9:8 He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
- Job 38:4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
- Psalms 68:33 to Him who rides upon the highest heavens of old; behold, His mighty voice resounds.