richmahn_en_tn/isa/40/22.md

948 B

He is the one who sits above the horizon of the earth

The prophet speaks of Yahweh ruling the earth as if Yahweh were seated on a throne above the earth. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)

the inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him

The prophet compares the way Yahweh considers humans to the way humans would consider grasshoppers. Just as grasshoppers are small to humans, humans are small and weak before God. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile)

He stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out as a tent to live in

These two lines share similar meanings. The prophet speaks of Yahweh creating the heavens as if he had erected a tent in which to live. Alternate translation: "He spreads out the heavens as easily as a person would stretch out a curtain or erect a tent in which to live" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile)