Isaiah 55:9

King James Version

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,So are My ways higher than your waysAnd My thoughts than your thoughts.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Bible in Basic English
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But as farre as the heauens are hyer then the earth: so farre do my wayes exceede yours, & my thoughtes yours.

Darby Translation
For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

New King James Version
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Literal Translation
For as the heavens are high from the earth, so My ways are high from your ways, and My thoughts from your thoughts.

Easy-to-Read Version
Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

World English Bible
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

King James Version (1611)
For as the heauens are higher then the earth, so are my wayes higher then your wayes, and my thoughts then your thouhts.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But as farre as the heauens are hyer then the earth, so farre do my waies exceade yours, & my thoughtes yours

Amplified Bible
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts higher than your thoughts.

American Standard Version
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Update Bible Version
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Webster's Bible Translation
For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

New Century Version
Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

New English Translation
for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans.

Contemporary English Version
Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours.

Complete Jewish Bible
"As high as the sky is above the earth are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Geneva Bible (1587)
For as ye heauens are higher then the earth, so are my wayes higher then your wayes, and my thoughtes aboue your thoughts.

George Lamsa Translation
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Hebrew Names Version
For as the heavens are higher than the eretz, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

New Living Translation
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

New Life Bible
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But as the heaven is distant from the earth, so is my way distant from your ways, and your thoughts from my mind.

English Revised Version
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Berean Standard Bible
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

New Revised Standard
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For, higher, are the heavens than the earth, - So, higher, are My ways than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.

Lexham English Bible
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

English Standard Version
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

New American Standard Bible
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Good News Translation
As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.

Christian Standard Bible®
"For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For as heuenys ben reisid fro erthe, so my weies ben reisid fro youre weies, and my thouytis fro youre thouytis.

Revised Standard Version
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Young's Literal Translation
For high have the heavens been above the earth, So high have been My ways above your ways, And My thoughts above your thoughts.

Contextual Overview

⁶ Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: ⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord , and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. ⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord . ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: ¹¹ So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. ¹² For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. ¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Psalms 36:5, Psalms 77:19, Psalms 89:2, Psalms 103:11, Matthew 11:25, Romans 11:31-36

Reciprocal: Genesis 2:1 - Thus Genesis 18:30 - General 1 Samuel 16:7 - seeth not 2 Samuel 7:19 - And is this 2 Kings 5:11 - Behold 1 Chronicles 17:4 - tell Job 11:8 - It is as high as heaven Job 35:5 - Look Psalms 33:11 - thoughts Psalms 40:5 - thoughts Psalms 65:12 - rejoice Psalms 71:19 - Thy righteousness Psalms 92:5 - thoughts Psalms 108:4 - thy mercy Psalms 139:17 - precious Proverbs 8:12 - I wisdom Proverbs 15:29 - he heareth Proverbs 17:15 - that justifieth Proverbs 21:18 - wicked Proverbs 25:3 - heaven Ecclesiastes 5:2 - for Ecclesiastes 7:24 - General Isaiah 40:28 - no searching Ezekiel 1:18 - they were so Hosea 11:9 - for Matthew 7:11 - how Luke 19:25 - Lord John 3:8 - so John 11:6 - he abode Romans 5:15 - But not Ephesians 3:18 - able

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For as the heavens, are higher than the earth,.... Than which there cannot be conceived a greater distance:

so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts; which may denote the heavenliness of the ways and thoughts of God, the eternity and unsearchableness of them, and their excellency and preciousness; as well as the very great distance between his ways and thoughts and men's which this is designed to illustrate.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For as the heavens ... - This verse is designed merely to illustrate the idea in the former. There is as great a difference between the plans of God and those of people, as between the heavens and the earth. A similar comparison occurs in Psalms 103:11 -

For as the heaven is high alcove the earth,

So great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

Compare Psalms 57:10 -

For thy mercy is great unto the heavens,

And thy truth unto the clouds.

Also Psalms 89:2 -

Mercy shall be built up forever,

Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

The idea in all these passages is substantially the same - that the mercy and compassion of God are illimitable.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 55:9. For as the heavens are higher — I am persuaded that כ caph, the particle of comparison, is lost in this place, from the likeness of the particle כי ki, immediately preceding it. So Houbigant and Secker. And their remark is confirmed by all the ancient Versions, which express it; and by the following passage of Psalms 103:11, which is almost the same: -

הארץ על שמים כגבה כי

haarets al shamayim chigboah ki

יראיו על חסדו גבר

yereaiv al chasdo gabar

"For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So high is his goodness over them that fear him."

Where, by the nature of the sentence, the verb in the second line ought to be the same with that in the first; גבה gabah, not גבר gabar: so Archbishop Secker conjectured; referring however to Psalms 117:2.