Isaiah 40:27

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and the justice [due] to me is passed away from my God?

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

לָ֤מָּה תֹאמַר֙ יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב וּתְדַבֵּ֖ר יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל נִסְתְּרָ֤ה דַרְכִּי֙ מֵֽיְהוָ֔ה וּמֵאֱלֹהַ֖י מִשְׁפָּטִ֥י יַעֲבֽוֹר׃

Transliteration

lāmmāh tōʾmar yaʿăqōb ûtědabbēr yiśrāʾēl nistěrāh darkî mêYHWH ûmēʾĕlōhay mišpāṭî yaʿăbôr

Grammar Details

*lāmmāh*: interrogative adverb - 'why'
*tōʾmar*: qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular - 'do you say'
*yaʿăqōb*: proper noun - 'Jacob'
*ûtědabbēr*: conjunction + piel imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular - 'and speak'
*yiśrāʾēl*: proper noun - 'Israel'
*nistěrāh*: niphal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular - 'is hidden'
*darkî*: noun, feminine singular with 1st person singular suffix - 'my way'
*mêYHWH*: preposition + divine name - 'from the LORD'
*ûmēʾĕlōhay*: conjunction + preposition + noun, masculine plural with 1st person singular suffix - 'and from my God'
*mišpāṭî*: noun, masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix - 'my justice'
*yaʿăbôr*: qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - 'passes by'

Word Meanings

*lāmmāh tōʾmar*: why do you say/why would you say
*ûtědabbēr*: and speak/and declare
*nistěrāh darkî*: my way is hidden/my path is concealed
*mišpāṭî yaʿăbôr*: my justice passes by/my right is disregarded/my cause is ignored

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Job 27:2 : 2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my right, And the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul:
Isa 49:4 : 4 But I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity; yet surely the justice [due] to me is with Jehovah, and my recompense with my God.
Luke 18:7-8 : 7 And shall not God avenge his elect, that cry to him day and night, and [yet] he is longsuffering over them? 8 I say unto you, that he will avenge them {G1722} speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Isa 49:14 : 14 But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Isa 49:3-4
2 verses
74%
3and he said unto me, Thou art my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
4But I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity; yet surely the justice [due] to me is with Jehovah, and my recompense with my God.
Ps 43:2
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2For thou art the God of my strength; Why hast thou cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Ps 10:1
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1Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
Isa 45:15
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15Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.
Ps 94:7
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Ps 88:14
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14Jehovah, why castest thou off my soul? Why hidest thou thy face from me?
Ps 44:24
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24Wherefore hidest thou thy face, And forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
Isa 59:9
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9Therefore is justice far from us, neither doth righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but, behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.
Isa 64:7
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Ps 42:9
73%
9I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Isa 43:22
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22Yet thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
Isa 40:26
73%
26Lift 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.
Job 13:24
73%
24Wherefore hidest thou thy face, And holdest me for thine enemy?
Isa 40:28
72%
28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding.
Isa 42:24
72%
24Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not Jehovah? he against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they would not walk, neither were they obedient unto his law.
Isa 29:15
72%
15Woe unto them that hide deep their counsel from Jehovah, and whose works are in the dark, and that say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
Jer 12:1
72%
1Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee; yet would I reason the cause with thee: wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they at ease that deal very treacherously?
Ezek 18:25
72%
25Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
Job 9:11
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11Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: He passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
Job 40:8
72%
8Wilt thou even annul my judgment? Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?
Job 22:13
72%
13And thou sayest, What doth God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?
Mal 2:17
72%
17Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? In that ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of Jehovah, and he delighteth in them; or where is the God of justice?
Jer 2:31
72%
31O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee?
Isa 45:19
72%
19I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I, Jehovah, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Ps 22:1
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Jer 16:17
72%
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Ps 10:11
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11He saith in his heart, God hath forgotten; He hideth his face; he will never see it.
Ezek 18:29
71%
29Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
Job 19:7-8
2 verses
71%
7Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry for help, but there is no justice.
8He hath walled up my way that I cannot pass, And hath set darkness in my paths.
Job 42:3
71%
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Ps 31:22
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22As for me, I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications When I cried unto thee.
Job 35:14
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Isa 57:11
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Ps 115:2
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Job 14:3
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3And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, And bringest me into judgment with thee?
Jer 14:8
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Mic 2:7
71%
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Ps 144:3
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Lam 1:12
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Ps 77:19
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Job 34:5
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5For Job hath said, I am righteous, And God hath taken away my right:
Job 6:13
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13Is it not that I have no help in me, And that wisdom is driven quite from me?
Jer 11:20
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20But, O Jehovah of hosts, who judgest righteously, who triest the heart and the mind, I shall see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
Ps 13:1
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1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou forget me for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
Isa 50:2
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2Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stink, because there is no water, and die for thirst.
Deut 32:37
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Isa 51:13
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13and hast forgotten Jehovah thy Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and fearest continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he maketh ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
Job 3:23
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23[ Why is light given] to a man whose way is hid, And whom God hath hedged in?