Isaiah 40:15Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

This revelation illustrates the boundless greatness of Almighty God and the unmatched dignity of His innate glory, showing that all things before Him are trivial and can be deemed utterly inconsequential compared to the utmost extent of His inherent might and magnificence. Thus, He states, “But as for all the Gentiles, they are as a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a grain of dust on the scales, as nothing at all.” Indeed, what is one drop falling from a pitcher? What weight does a minute particle hold on the scales when balancing what appears to be lighter? Or what value does a “spitting,” that is, human saliva, possess? Yet, He declares that not even the mighty cedars of Lebanon are sufficient for Him, nor all the beasts for a burnt offering. These are indeed trivial, even if all were presented as offerings to Him, and they fall far short of the glory of God. If all the Gentiles are as nothing and cannot be measured, what then can you be compared to Him?

Let us not think it a great challenge for God to call the nations to Himself, nor to recognize that all flesh has seen the salvation of God. It is commanded to ascend the high mountain to proclaim good tidings to Zion, for the Lord comes with strength, rewarding all according to their deeds, like a shepherd embracing His lambs and carrying the nursing mothers. His greatness is underscored, for nothing is impossible for Him. He, who created all things and is the Creator of all, can manage even these seemingly trivial matters. In speaking of a handful and an inch, He leverages familiar terms and measures, allowing us to grasp the vastness of God’s power through our language.

In the Septuagint, it is translated, "Who measured the waters with His hand," whereas Aquila rendered it, "Who measured the waters with a very small finger?" This indicates that it is not with an entire hand, but rather with a single finger, commonly referred to as the forefinger, that the vast expanse of waters is gauged; and the term for an inch signifies an open hand from thumb to little finger. When we contract the hand, a handful is formed, enabling us to acknowledge both the heavens and the earth spread out before us.

For the volume of the earth, as rendered by the Seventy, the Hebrew term is salis. Simmachus translated it as τριτον, and Aquila as τρίβωμον; for clarity, we rendered it as three fingers, suggesting that He weighs the earth and the heights of mountains and hills with just three delicate fingers and a small grain on the scales, highlighting the majesty of God and the might of the Creator.

Who, then, provides assistance to the Spirit of the Lord or stands as His counselor? Simmachus rendered it as, "Who prepared the Spirit of the Lord, and who counseled Him?" With whom did He share counsel, who granted Him discernment, and guided Him in the path of judgment, teaching Him knowledge and showing Him the way of wisdom? This elucidates the preparation and confirmation of that Spirit, of whom the Apostle states, "The Lord is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:17), and "the Spirit of God rested upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding" (Is. 11:2), and He further declares, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has anointed Me" (Is. 61:1). For He is indeed the Spirit of the Lord and His counselor, in whom dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). He counsels Him referred to earlier (Is. 9:6), "Wonderful Counselor." Proverbs teaches us, "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding, He established the heavens" (Proverbs 3:19).

The Seventy, who phrased it, "Who knew the mind of the Lord, or who was His counselor?" intend to assert that the intellect, knowledge, and wisdom of God, through which all things came to be, and without which nothing exists, are those which the Psalms proclaim: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth" (Psalm 33:6). All nations, ignorant of their Creator, or the entirety of humanity compared to God, are like a drop from a bucket or like a grain on the scales that tips with the slightest weight. Just as the bearer is indifferent when a small drop escapes the bucket, the entire multitude of nations, when measured against the celestial assembly and the host of angels, is diminished to nothing.

Islands are regarded as spittle, or according to Symmachus and Theodotion, relating closely to the Hebrew term for what has fallen away, which Aquila interpreted as λεπτο'ν βαλλόμενον. The Hebrew meaning here signifies the smallest specks of dust which, when lifted by a whirlwind, become more perceivable than visible. Thus, this term alludes to the tiniest and nearly invisible particles of dust, perhaps akin to what Democritus termed atoms. There are numerous translations which vary in Greek as they are rendered from Hebrew, reflecting the translation difficulties and the comparative poverty of both the Greek and Latin languages.

However, in gradually steering humanity away from idolatry, He simultaneously dismantles sacrificial practices, teaching that all the trees of Lebanon and the livestock therein cannot suffice for His burnt offerings. If all nations before Him are rendered as non-existent, and counted as nothing and emptiness—Israel included—then Israel, too, is seen as insignificant and counts as mere emptiness. This is expressed to humble pride and to communicate that he is akin to the other nations.

They are of no more use to the righteous than the useless stalks of wheat or the chaff intended for the fire. Consequently, when the church is suddenly removed at the end of days, it is foretold that ‘there shall be tribulation such as was not from the beginning, nor shall be’ (Matt. 24:21). This period represents the final conflict for the righteous, who, upon achieving victory, will receive the crown of immortality.