Isaiah 46:5 · Bible study
Isaiah 46:5 Commentary: The Incomparable God of Israel
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Study page for Isaiah 46:5. Examine God's challenge, the folly of idolatry, and the call to trust the incomparable God.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God challenges His people to stop comparing Him to powerless idols and to trust His unique power and care.
- Key words: liken (damah, H1819), make equal (shavah, H7737), compare (mashal, H4911).
- Main debate: Whether the verse primarily addresses the making of physical images (Lange) or the deeper distrust in God’s power (Calvin).
- Theological theme: The incomparability and absolute sovereignty of God over against all man-made substitutes.
- Best use: As a call to examine our trust and to rest in the God who alone can carry and save.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike?
WEB World English Bible 2000
“To whom will you compare me, and consider my equal, and compare me, as if we were the same?
KJV King James Version 1769
To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
To whom do ye liken Me, and make equal? And compare Me, that we may be like?
Darby Darby Bible 1890
To whom will ye liken me and make me equal, or compare me, that we may be like?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
To whom have you likened me, and made me equal, and compared me, and made me like?
Translations in other languages (10 available)
¿ A quién me asemejáis, y me igualáis, y me comparáis, para que sea semejante?
A quem me considerareis semelhante, e com quem me igualareis, e me comparareis, para que sejamos semelhantes?
A qui me comparerez-vous, pour le faire mon égal?
Nach wem bildet und wem vergleicht ihr mich denn? Gegen wen messet ihr mich, dem ich gleich sein solle?
Wien zoudt gijlieden Mij nabeelden, en evengelijk maken, en Mij vergelijken, dat wij elkander gelijken zouden?
A chi mi assomigliereste, a chi mi uguagliereste, a chi mi paragonereste quasi fossimo pari?
Komuż mię przypodobacie, i przyrównacie, albo podobnym uczynicie, żebym mu był podobny?
Кому уподобите Меня, и с кем сравните, и с кем сличите, чтобы мы были сходны?
你們將誰 與我相比，與我同等，可以與我比較，使我們相同呢？
Who in your eyes is my equal? or what comparison will you make with me?
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Isaiah 46:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse stands as a direct challenge to any attempt to compare God with an idol. Barnes notes that the design is to “show the folly of idolatry, and the vanity of trusting in idols,” particularly when Babylon’s idols were carried off into captivity. Calvin deepens the point: the Lord remonstrates with the Jews “because they distrusted and doubted his power, and put him on a level with idols.” Gill echoes that no likeness is possible between the Creator and a creature. Keil and Delitzsch capture the heart of the passage: it calls Israel to consider God’s incomparable nature, the One who from the birth of the nation has carried them. The verse echoes Isaiah 40:18 and 40:25, reinforcing the theme that no one is like God. The threefold question drives home the impossibility of finding a worthy comparison. This challenge is not only a rebuke but an invitation to rest in God’s unmatched power and faithful care.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse clearly asserts God’s incomparability and rebukes any attempt to place Him on a level with idols or any created thing.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Main point of the verse | All traditions agree the verse challenges any attempt to compare God with an idol. | Some (Calvin, Keil) see it directed specifically at exiles doubting God’s power; others (Barnes, more broadly) treat it as a general polemic against idolatry. |
| Audience addressed | The verse is addressed to the house of Jacob and the remnant of Israel. | Whether “remnant” refers to those still faithful in the Babylonian exile (Keil) or to all generations of God’s people (Matthew Henry). |
| Function of the three verbs | The three verbs (liken, make equal, compare) collectively emphasize the impossibility of finding a worthy comparison. | Some commentators treat them as virtual synonyms; others (Lange, Gill) see each as contributing a distinct nuance, likeness, equality, and parallel. |
| Relationship to Isaiah 40:18 and 25 | This verse echoes the earlier rhetorical questions in chapter 40. | Whether it is a direct quote or a new application tailored to the specific crisis of the exile (Cambridge Bible notes the similarity but stresses the different context). |
| The role of the surrounding context | Verse 5 must be read in light of the contrast in verses 1-4 between idols carried into captivity and God carrying His people. | Some (Barnes) focus on the folly of trusting idols; others (Keil, Calvin) emphasize the active, personal care of God as the primary contrast. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Isaiah 46 opens with the gods of Babylon, Bel and Nebo, bowed down and carried off by animals. Their idols are a burden for weary beasts, unable to deliver themselves. Into this scene steps the Lord with a very different picture: “I have made, and I will bear. Yes, I will carry, and will deliver” (Isaiah 46:4). Verse 5 is the hinge question: to whom will you compare me?
The historical setting is the Babylonian exile. God’s people, surrounded by the apparent success of Babylon, were tempted to think that their own God had lost power. Calvin explains that when the people saw the Babylonians prosper, “they thought that their hope was gone” and began to doubt God’s ability to save. They were effectively comparing the Lord to the idols of the empire.
The cultural practice of idol-making is described in verses 6-7: lavish gold and silver, a hired goldsmith, a god that cannot move or answer. The prophet uses biting satire to expose the absurdity. The second commandment (Exodus 20:4) had already forbidden images of God, but the people still harbored the idea that the Lord could be understood or controlled like a pagan deity.
The larger literary context is Isaiah 40-48, where God proves His deity by declaring the end from the beginning and raising Cyrus to deliver Israel. The question of verse 5 is therefore not an abstract riddle. It is a concrete call to trust the God who carries His people, rather than the idols that must be carried.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Isaiah 46:5. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts and versions.
Reception History
Throughout church history, Isaiah 46:5 has been a key text in polemics against idolatry. Early church fathers used it to contrast the living God with pagan statues. During the Reformation, Calvin and the Geneva Bible notes applied it to challenge any trust in images or human merit. The verse has also been drawn upon in hymns celebrating God’s uniqueness. Modern readers continue to find in this verse a call to examine anything that competes with God for ultimate loyalty. The question remains as pointed today as it was in the exile: “To whom will you compare me?”
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The absurdity of comparing God to idols. Verse 5 piles up three verbs, liken, make equal, compare, to show the impossibility of the task. Idols are crafted by human hands; God is the Creator.
- The contrast between burdens. Babylon carries its idols; God carries His people (vs. 1-4). One kind of trust exhausts; the other sustains.
- The call to remember. Verses 8-9 urge Israel to recall God’s past acts. Memory breaks the spell of idolatry and restores trust in the incomparable God.
Five-point outline
- Question: Who can compare to God? The answer is already clear: no one.
- Exposure: Idols are made, carried, and powerless (vs. 6-7).
- Contrast: God carries, saves, and never grows weary (vs. 3-4).
- Command: “Remember this, and show yourselves men” (v. 8). Trust requires active, deliberate thought.
- Promise: God will place salvation in Zion (v. 13). He is not passive; He acts for His people.
Illustration hooks
- When you worry about finances or a health diagnosis, you are effectively treating God as small, as though He were like a powerless idol stuck on a shelf.
- Think of the difference between carrying a heavy backpack yourself (the idolater’s burden) versus being carried on someone’s shoulders (the believer’s rest). The gospel reverses the weight.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God seem silent when my circumstances are overwhelming?
- How do I know if I am trusting in God or in my own abilities?
- What does it mean to “remember” God’s faithfulness in a practical way?
Leading a Discussion
This verse invites us to examine where we place our trust. In a world full of competing loyalties, God asks a pointed question: “To whom will you compare me?” The surrounding verses show the contrast between idols that are carried and the God who carries His people. Use these questions to explore how this challenge speaks to your life.
Discussion questions
- What does verse 5 reveal about God’s character? Why is this question asked in the middle of a passage about idols?
- Why do you think God’s people in Babylon were tempted to compare the Lord with the idols of the empire? Have you ever felt that God might be less powerful than your circumstances?
- How does the contrast in verses 1-4 (idols being carried vs. God carrying Israel) help you understand the point of verse 5?
- What “idols” in our culture, things we rely on instead of God, are most tempting to you personally?
- How can remembering God’s past faithfulness (v. 8-9) change the way you face a current struggle?
- What would change in your daily life if you truly believed that no one is like God and that He will carry you?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 15:11 | Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? |
| Psalms 86:8 | There is no one like you among the gods, Lord, nor any deeds like your deeds. |
| Psalms 89:6 | For who in the skies can be compared to Yahweh? Who among the sons of the heavenly beings is like Yahweh, |
| Psalms 89:8 | Yahweh, God of Armies, who is a mighty one, like you? Yah, your faithfulness is around you. |
| Psalms 113:5 | Who is like Yahweh, our God, who has his seat on high, |
| Isaiah 40:18 | To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him? |
| Isaiah 40:25 | “To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One. |
| Jeremiah 10:6 | There is no one like you, Yahweh. You are great, and your name is great in might. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes argues that the prophet exposes idolatry by pointing to a recent event: the Babylonian idols failed to defend their own city and were captured in defeat. If such helpless blocks cannot even save themselves, it is the height of folly to compare the living God to them or to trust in them.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin warns against measuring God's power by present circumstances, as the Jews did when Babylon's prosperity led them to doubt His care. He insists the real offense is not merely superstition but comparing God to idols, which robs Him of glory by implying He might approve of idolatry.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Comp. the similar question of Isa_40:18 , which as here introduces a sarcastic description of the manufacture of idols.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note draws attention to God's repeated, emphatic questions that challenge any attempt to compare something or someone to Him. The phrasing presses that no being or object can be made equal or even similar to God, as He is entirely unique and beyond comparison.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill presses the absurdity of trying to create any likeness of God. He argues that no creature in heaven or earth can compare to the One who cares for all creation and shows special grace to His people. To attempt such a likeness is as foolish as the idolatry of the heathen nations.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch draw attention to the contrast at the heart of this passage: Babylon carries its idols to no effect, but Jehovah carries His people and saves them. God’s sustained care from the nation’s birth in Egypt through to its old age proves He alone is incomparable, making the question of equal rivals unthinkable.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry focuses on the sheer absurdity of comparing the living God to an idol. He highlights that idols must be carried, set in place, and cannot move or answer, while God alone declares the end from the beginning and brings His purposes to pass.