The Meaning of Isaiah 40:26 Explained

Isaiah 40:26

KJV: Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

YLT: Lift up on high your eyes, And see -- who hath prepared these? He who is bringing out by number their host, To all of them by name He calleth, By abundance of strength (And he is strong in power) not one is lacking.

Darby: Lift up your eyes on high, and see! Who hath created these things, bringing out their host by number? He calleth them all by name; through the greatness of his might and strength of power, not one faileth.

ASV: Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Lift up  your eyes  on high,  and behold  who hath created  these [things], that bringeth out  their host  by number:  he calleth  them all by names  by the greatness  of his might,  for that [he is] strong  in power;  not one  faileth. 

What does Isaiah 40:26 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The stars were objects of worship and signs of divine activity in Babylonian and Canaanite worship (cf. 2 Kings 17:16; 2 Kings 21:3). But they were only creations. The pagan cults assigned them names, but the Lord summons and directs them using their real names, the names that He as their sovereign assigns them. In the ancient world, to know the name of something was to know its essence and so to have power over it. Innumerable as they may be to humans, the Lord knows and controls each one of the heavenly bodies.
"Isaiah has insisted on the absolute transcendence of God: he is not part of the cosmos in any way, and the cosmos is not part of him [1]. But to carry that line to its logical conclusion as Aristotle did is to end with a passionless, colorless force as the source of everything. It is to say that personality is an accident in time. Isaiah will not go that way. He insists on transcendence, but leaves no doubt that the Transcendent is a person with all that that means. When all is said and done, the combination of these two may be Israel"s greatest contribution to human thought." [2]
"Why does the glory of God sit lightly on believers today? It may be the fault of those of us who are preachers. Is our constant message to the people, "Behold your God"? Or have we changed the subject? We seem to have sunk to the level of quick-stop churches where God is expected to lubricate the vehicle of American selfishness." [3]
God"s Superiority to All Possible Opposition [4] ArgumentQuestion(s)ConclusionHis superiority to the nations is shown by His creation of the earth. Isaiah 40:12-14 Isaiah 40:15-17His superiority to idols is seen in the fact that they are created by craftsmen. Isaiah 40:18 Isaiah 40:19-20His superiority to the rulers of the earth is seen in the fact that He is transcendent while they are temporary. Isaiah 40:21 Isaiah 40:22-24His superiority over other "deities" is shown by His creation of the heavenly bodies. Isaiah 40:25 Isaiah 40:26

Context Summary

Isaiah 40:18-31 - The Everlasting God The Giver Of Strength
Day changes to night, and as the twilight deepens, the stars come out in their myriads, Isaiah 40:26. To the poetic eye of the watcher, they appear as a vast flock following the shepherd, who calls each by its name. Not one falls out of its place, or is lacking. Will Jehovah do so much for stars and nought for men? Will He not have a name for each? Will He not guard and guide each? If He has sustained the orbs of light in their mighty rounds, will He fail the poor soul that clings to His feet?
They that wait on God change their strength. In their earliest days they rely on the energy and vigor of youth, on their blameless, unstained character, in the consciousness of their glorious manhood; but as years pass, they come to count all these as refuse in comparison with Jesus Christ the Lord, Philippians 3:8. Notice the order in Isaiah 40:31! At first sight we should have expected that it would advance from walking to running, and so to flying. But that order is reversed. It is more difficult to walk than to mount! Every cyclist will tell you that the hardest task is to keep your cycle at walking pace. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 40

1  The promulgation of the Gospel
3  The preaching of John Baptist foretold
9  The preaching of the apostles foretold
12  The prophet, by the omnipotence of God
18  And his incomparableness
26  Comforts the people

What do the individual words in Isaiah 40:26 mean?

Lift up on high your eyes and see who has created these [things] who brings out by number their host them all by name He calls by great His strength and strong [His] power one Not is missing -
שְׂאוּ־ מָר֨וֹם עֵינֵיכֶ֤ם וּרְאוּ֙ מִי־ בָרָ֣א אֵ֔לֶּה הַמּוֹצִ֥יא בְמִסְפָּ֖ר צְבָאָ֑ם לְכֻלָּם֙ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יִקְרָ֔א מֵרֹ֤ב אוֹנִים֙ וְאַמִּ֣יץ כֹּ֔חַ אִ֖ישׁ לֹ֥א נֶעְדָּֽר ס

שְׂאוּ־  Lift  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
מָר֨וֹם  on  high 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָרֹום  
Sense: height.
עֵינֵיכֶ֤ם  your  eyes 
Parse: Noun, cdc, second person masculine plural
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
וּרְאוּ֙  and  see 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
בָרָ֣א  has  created 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּרָא 
Sense: to create, shape, form.
אֵ֔לֶּה  these  [things] 
Parse: Pronoun, common plural
Root: אֵהֶל 
Sense: these.
הַמּוֹצִ֥יא  who  brings  out 
Parse: Article, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
בְמִסְפָּ֖ר  by  number 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִסְפָּר  
Sense: number, tale.
צְבָאָ֑ם  their  host 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
לְכֻלָּם֙  them  all 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
בְּשֵׁ֣ם  by  name 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
יִקְרָ֔א  He  calls 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
מֵרֹ֤ב  by  great 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹב  
Sense: multitude, abundance, greatness.
אוֹנִים֙  His  strength 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֹון  
Sense: vigour, generative power.
וְאַמִּ֣יץ  and  strong 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular construct
Root: אַמִּיץ  
Sense: strong, mighty.
כֹּ֔חַ  [His]  power 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֹּחַ 
Sense: strength, power, might.
אִ֖ישׁ  one 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
נֶעְדָּֽר  is  missing 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָדַר 
Sense: to help.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation