Isaiah 55:8–9
Bible verses · Also called: Isaiah 55:8-9, Isa 55:8-9, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, As the heavens are higher than the earth
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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.
The text is the New Korean Revised Version (1998), shown under a licence from the Korean Bible Society. Wording may differ slightly from the Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Standard Version. Read in the Korean Revised Version
A declaration that God's thoughts and ways differ from human thoughts and ways and are as high above them as the heavens are above the earth. Although it is a classic passage on divine transcendence, interpreters often emphasize that its original context concerns God's abundant pardon.
Context
Isaiah 55 is a chapter of invitation to partake freely of grace, opening with "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters" (v. 1). Verses 6–7 urge the hearer to seek the LORD while He may be found and call the wicked to forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and to return to the LORD, "for he will abundantly pardon." The "thoughts" and "ways" of verses 8–9 pick up directly from the way and thoughts of the wicked in verse 7. Verses 10–11 then declare that just as the rain and snow water the earth and do not return without effect, so God's word will not return to Him void.
Interpretation
- As a statement about the magnitude of forgiveness: In context, the difference between God's thoughts and human thoughts is taken to mean that whereas people do not forgive easily, God abundantly pardons the sinner who returns. Many commentators emphasize this reading.
- As a statement about God's transcendence: The passage is taken to express the general truth that human beings cannot fully comprehend God's wisdom and purposes. It is read together with Romans 11:33–34.
- In connection with the faithfulness of God's word: This reading links the passage with verses 10–11, which affirm that God's thoughts are not only high but that His word will surely be accomplished, and takes it to mean that God fulfills His promises even when they seem impossible from a human standpoint.
Questions Concerning Application
The passage is often used as a word of comfort—"God's thoughts are not our thoughts"—when people face suffering or circumstances they cannot understand. Some caution that it should not be used to silence legitimate questions about suffering, and others note that it is frequently cited without its original context of an invitation to forgiveness. On the other hand, some hold that because the general sense of divine transcendence is also present in the text, both readings can be held together.
In the Korean Church
The passage is frequently quoted during pastoral visits to believers in affliction, at funeral services, and in sermons addressing delayed answers to prayer.
Related Passages
- Isaiah 55:6–7
- Isaiah 55:10–11
- Romans 11:33–36
- Psalm 103:11–12
See also 4
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