12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand

or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?j

Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure

or weighed the mountains on a balance

and the hills on the scales?

13 Who has directedC the Spirit of the Lord,

or who gave him counsel?k

14 Who did he consult?

Who gave him understandingl

and taught him the paths of justice?

Who taught him knowledge

and showed him the way of understanding?

15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;

he lifts up the islands like fine dust.

16 Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel,

or its animals enough for a burnt offering.m

17 All the nations are as nothing before him;

they are considered by him

as empty nothingness.n

18 With whom will you compare God?

What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?o

19 An idol?—something that a smelter casts

and a metalworker plates with gold

and makes silver chains for?p

20 A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal

that will not rot.D

He looks for a skilled craftsman

to set up an idol that will not fall over.q

21 Do you not know?r

Have you not heard?

Has it not been declared to you

from the beginning?

Have you not considered

the foundations of the earth?s

22 God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;

its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.t

He stretches out the heavens like thin clothu

and spreads them out like a tent to live in.v

23 He reduces princes to nothingw

and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.

24 They are barely planted, barely sown,

their stem hardly takes root in the ground

when he blows on them and they wither,

and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.x

25 “To whom will you compare me,y

or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

26 Look up and see!

Who createdz these?

He brings out the stars by number;

he calls all of them by name.aa

Because of his great power and strength,

not one of them is missing.