13 aWho has 1directed the Spirit of the Lord,

Or as His bcounselor has informed Him?

14 aWith whom did He consult and who bgave Him understanding?

And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge

And informed Him of the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the anations are like a drop from a bucket,

And are regarded as a speck of bdust on the scales;

Behold, He lifts up the 1islands like fine dust.

16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,

Nor its abeasts enough for a burnt offering.

17 aAll the nations are as nothing before Him,

They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and 1meaningless.

18 aTo whom then will you liken God?

Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

19 As for the 1aidol, a craftsman casts it,

A goldsmith bplates it with gold,

And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering

Selects a atree that does not rot;

He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman

To 1prepare 2an idol that bwill not totter.

21 aDo you not know? Have you not heard?

Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?

Have you not understood bfrom the foundations of the earth?

22 It is He who 1sits above the 2acircle of the earth,

And its inhabitants are like bgrasshoppers,

Who cstretches out the heavens like a dcurtain

And spreads them out like a etent to dwell in.

23 He it is who reduces arulers to nothing,

Who bmakes the judges of the earth 1meaningless.

24 1Scarcely have they been planted,

1Scarcely have they been sown,

1Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,

But He merely blows on them, and they wither,

And the astorm carries them away like stubble.

25 “aTo whom then will you liken Me

That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.