Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 40:15

"Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing." — Isaiah 40:15 (ASV)

The nations are as a drop ... — “Nations” and “isles” bring us into the region of human history, as distinct from that of the material world. “Isles,” as elsewhere, stands vaguely for far-off lands, or sea-coasts. The word is that of one who looks on the Mediterranean and thinks of the unexplored regions that lie in it and around. It is one of Isaiah’s favourite words in this aspect of its meaning.

A drop of a bucket. — Better, on a bucket. Such a drop adds nothing to the weight which the bearer feels; as little do the nations and the isles to the burden which Jehovah bears. The small dust in the balance presents another illustration of the same idea.