# Is “A drop in the bucket” in the Bible?

> Yes. “A drop in the bucket” comes from the Bible, from Isaiah 40:15.

Source: https://www.lumin.faith/is-it-in-the-bible/a-drop-in-the-bucket
By Andrew Kittridge · November 9, 2026

The prophet Isaiah says it about the nations, compared with God.

## The verse

> Look, nations are like a drop hanging from a bucket, reckoned as a speck of dust on the scales; look, he picks up the islands as if they were fine powder.
>
> — [Isaiah 40:15](https://www.lumin.faith/read/isaiah/40#15) (Lumin Translation)

The saying is not word for word. It shortens or reshapes the verse.

## What it means there

Isaiah is comforting a small, beaten people: the empires that frighten them weigh almost nothing to God. Today it means an amount too small to matter.

## Common questions

### Is “A drop in the bucket” in the Bible?

Yes. “A drop in the bucket” comes from the Bible, from Isaiah 40:15. The saying is not word for word. It shortens or reshapes the verse. The prophet Isaiah says it about the nations, compared with God.

### Where in the Bible is “A drop in the bucket”?

In Isaiah 40:15. In the Lumin Translation, Isaiah 40:15 reads: “Look, nations are like a drop hanging from a bucket, reckoned as a speck of dust on the scales; look, he picks up the islands as if they were fine powder.”

### Who said “A drop in the bucket”?

The prophet Isaiah says it about the nations, compared with God.

### What does “A drop in the bucket” mean in the Bible?

Isaiah is comforting a small, beaten people: the empires that frighten them weigh almost nothing to God. Today it means an amount too small to matter.

## More

- [Is “Fallen from grace” in the Bible?](https://www.lumin.faith/is-it-in-the-bible/fallen-from-grace.md)
- [Is “Give us this day our daily bread” in the Bible?](https://www.lumin.faith/is-it-in-the-bible/give-us-this-day-our-daily-bread.md)
- [Is “In the twinkling of an eye” in the Bible?](https://www.lumin.faith/is-it-in-the-bible/in-the-twinkling-of-an-eye.md)
- [Is “The last shall be first” in the Bible?](https://www.lumin.faith/is-it-in-the-bible/the-last-shall-be-first.md)
- [Is “Love covers a multitude of sins” in the Bible?](https://www.lumin.faith/is-it-in-the-bible/love-covers-a-multitude-of-sins.md)
- [Is “The meek shall inherit the earth” in the Bible?](https://www.lumin.faith/is-it-in-the-bible/the-meek-shall-inherit-the-earth.md)
- [Is “Physician, heal thyself” in the Bible?](https://www.lumin.faith/is-it-in-the-bible/physician-heal-thyself.md)
- [Is “Seek and you shall find” in the Bible?](https://www.lumin.faith/is-it-in-the-bible/seek-and-you-shall-find.md)
- [Check any word or a whole song](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-verse-checker)