King James Version

Isaiah 40:22

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

Study

Hebrew

Tap a word to see its meaning. Words run left to right in English reading order.

הַיֹּשֵׁב֙hayoshevthe dwellיָשַׁבdefinite article, verb, qal, participle, absolute — “the dwell”, a verb used as a describing wordH3427properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry(make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, [idiom] fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, [idiom] marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, r…עַלalaboveעַלpreposition — “above”H5921above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsabove, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, [idiom] as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, [idiom] both and, by (reason of), [idiom] had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of,…ח֣וּגchugcircleחוּגnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct — “circle”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH2329a circlecircle, circuit, compass.הָאָ֔רֶץhaaretsthe earthאֶרֶץdefinite article, noun, common, both genders, singular, absolute — “the earth”, the ordinary formH776the earth (at large, or partitively a land)[idiom] common, country, earth, field, ground, land, [idiom] natins, way, [phrase] wilderness, world.וְיֹשְׁבֶ֖יהָveyosheveyhaand dwellיָשַׁבconjunction, verb, qal, participle, construct, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “and dwell”, a verb used as a describing wordH3427properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry(make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, [idiom] fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, [idiom] marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, r…כַּחֲגָבִ֑יםkachagavimas locustחָגָבpreposition, noun, common, masculine, plural, absolute — “as locust”, the ordinary formH2284a locustlocust.הַנּוֹטֶ֤הhanotehthe spreadנָטָהdefinite article, verb, qal, participle, absolute — “the spread”, a verb used as a describing wordH5186to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application[phrase] afternoon, apply, bow (down, -ing), carry aside, decline, deliver, extend, go down, be gone, incline, intend, lay, let down, offer, outstretched, overthrown, pervert, pitch, prolong, put away, shew, spread (out), stretch (forth, o…כַדֹּק֙khadoqas curtainדֹּקpreposition, with the article, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “as curtain”, the ordinary formH1852something crumbling, i.e. fine (as a thin cloth)curtain.שָׁמַ֔יִםshamayimheavenשָׁמַיִםnoun, common, masculine, plural, absolute — “heaven”, the ordinary formH8064the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve)air, [idiom] astrologer, heaven(-s).וַיִּמְתָּחֵ֥םvayimtachemand spread outמָתַחconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, plural — “and spread out”, the next action in the storyH4969to stretch outspread out.כָּאֹ֖הֶלkaohelas tentאֹהֶלpreposition, with the article, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “as tent”, the ordinary formH168a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance)covering, (dwelling) (place), home, tabernacle, tent.לָשָֽׁבֶתlashavetto dwellיָשַׁבpreposition, verb, qal, infinitive construct — “to dwell”, the to-form of the verbH3427properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry(make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, [idiom] fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, [idiom] marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, r…

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

It is He that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;

Young’s Literal Translation

He who is sitting on the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants [are] as grasshoppers, He who is stretching out as a thin thing the heavens, And spreadeth them as a tent to dwell in.

World English Bible

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in,

Darby Translation

[It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a gauze curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;

Douay-Rheims

It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

It is He that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

It is he that comprehends the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants in it are as grasshoppers; he that set up the heaven as a chamber, and stretched it out as a tent to dwell in:

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Ὁ κατέχων τὸν γῦρον τῆς γῆς, καὶ οἱ ἐνοικοῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ ὡς ἀκρίδες· ὁ στήσας ὡς καμάραν τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ διατείνας ὡς σκηνὴν κατοικεῖν·