9Everyone who makes a carved image is vain. The things that they delight in will not profit. Their own witnesses don’t see, nor know, that they may be disappointed.
10Who has fashioned a god, or molds an image that is profitable for nothing?
11Behold, all his fellows will be disappointed; and the workmen are mere men. Let them all be gathered together. Let them stand up. They will fear. They will be put to shame together.
12The blacksmith takes an ax, works in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm. He is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is faint.
9 Everyone who makes a carved image is vain. The things that they delight in will not profit. Their own witnesses don’t see, nor know, that they may be disappointed.
10 Who has fashioned a god, or molds an image that is profitable for nothing?
11 Behold, all his fellows will be disappointed; and the workmen are mere men. Let them all be gathered together. Let them stand up. They will fear. They will be put to shame together.
12 The blacksmith takes an ax, works in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm. He is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is faint.
KJVKing James Version
9 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?
11 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.
12 The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.
Show all 3 translations
JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
9 They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity, and their delectable things shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
10 Who hath fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?
11 Behold, all the fellows thereof shall be ashamed; and the craftsmen skilled above men; let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; they shall fear, they shall be ashamed together.
12 The smith maketh an axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm; yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint.
Isaiah 41:24(v9)Behold, you are nothing, and your work is nothing. He who chooses you is an abomination.
Jeremiah 10:5(v10)They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and don’t speak. They must be carried, because they can’t move. Don’t be afraid of them; for…
Jeremiah 10:14-15(v9)Every man has become brutish and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is disappointed by his engraved image; for his molten image is…
Psalms 97:7(vv9, 11)Let all them be shamed who serve engraved images, who boast in their idols. Worship him, all you gods!
Isaiah 41:29(vv9–10)Behold, all of their deeds are vanity and nothing. Their molten images are wind and confusion.
Show all 61 cross-references
Isaiah 42:17(v11)“Those who trust in engraved images, who tell molten images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back. They will be utterly disappointed.
Habakkuk 2:18(v10)“What value does the engraved image have, that its maker has engraved it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he who fashions…
Habakkuk 2:18-20(v9)“What value does the engraved image have, that its maker has engraved it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he who fashions…
Isaiah 46:6-7(vv9, 12)Some pour out gold from the bag, and weigh silver in the balance. They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god. They fall down— yes, they…
1 Corinthians 8:4(vv9–10)Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other…
1 Kings 18:26-40(v9)They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “Baal,…
Psalms 115:8(v9)Those who make them will be like them; yes, everyone who trusts in them.
Psalms 135:18(v9)Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them.
Isaiah 2:20-21(v9)In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, to the…
Isaiah 37:18-20(v9)Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the countries and their land, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were…
Isaiah 40:19(v12)A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.
Isaiah 41:6-7(v12)Everyone helps his neighbor. They say to their brothers, “Be strong!” So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith. He who smoothes with the…
Isaiah 42:18(v9)“Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see.
Isaiah 43:8(v9)Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.
Isaiah 44:18(v9)They don’t know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see; and their hearts, that they can’t understand.
Isaiah 44:20(v9)He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can’t deliver his soul, nor say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?”
Isaiah 45:16(v11)They will be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them. Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together.
Isaiah 45:20(v9)“Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of…
Isaiah 46:1-2(v9)Bel bows down. Nebo stoops. Their idols are carried by animals, and on the livestock. The things that you carried around are heavy loads, a…
Jeremiah 2:11(v9)Has a nation changed its gods, which really are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doesn’t profit.
Jeremiah 2:27-28(v9)who tell wood, ‘You are my father,’ and a stone, ‘You have given birth to me,’ for they have turned their back to me, and not their face;…
Jeremiah 10:3-8(v9)For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax. They…
Jeremiah 14:22(v9)Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the sky give showers? Aren’t you he, Yahweh our God? Therefore…
Jeremiah 16:19-20(v9)Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth,…
Daniel 5:23(v9)but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords,…
Daniel 11:38(v9)But in his place he will honor the god of fortresses. He will honor a god whom his fathers didn’t know with gold, silver, and with precious…
Hosea 8:4-6(v9)They have set up kings, but not by me. They have made princes, and I didn’t approve. Of their silver and their gold they have made…
Acts 19:26(v10)You see and hear that not at Ephesus alone, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying…
Romans 1:22(v9)Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
2 Corinthians 4:4(v9)in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the…
Ephesians 5:8(v9)For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
Deuteronomy 27:15(v9)‘Cursed is the man who makes an engraved or molten image, an abomination to Yahweh, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up…
Judges 10:14(v9)Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen. Let them save you in the time of your distress!”
Isaiah 1:29(v11)For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, and you shall be confounded for the gardens that you have chosen.
Ephesians 4:18(v9)being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of…
Exodus 32:4(v12)He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods,…
Exodus 32:8(v12)They have turned away quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and have worshiped it, and…
Judges 6:29-32(v11)They said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” When they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this…
Judges 16:23-30(v11)The lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, “Our god has…
1 Samuel 5:3-7(v11)When the people of Ashdod arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before Yahweh’s ark. They took…
1 Samuel 6:4-5(v11)Then they said, “What should the trespass offering be which we shall return to him?” They said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice,…
1 Kings 12:28(v10)So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look and behold…
1 Kings 18:19-29(v11)Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the…
1 Kings 18:40(v11)Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let one of them escape!” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the…
Isaiah 41:5-7(v11)The islands have seen, and fear. The ends of the earth tremble. They approach, and come. Everyone helps his neighbor. They say to their…
Jeremiah 2:26-27(v11)As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so the house of Israel is ashamed: they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their…
Jeremiah 10:3-11(v12)For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax. They…
Jeremiah 10:14(v11)Every man has become brutish and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is disappointed by his engraved image; for his molten image is…
Jeremiah 51:17(v11)“Every man has become brutish without knowledge. Every goldsmith is disappointed by his image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there…
Daniel 3:1(v10)Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura,…
Daniel 3:1-7(v11)Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura,…
Daniel 3:14(v10)Nebuchadnezzar answered them, “Is it on purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my god, nor worship the golden image…
Daniel 5:1-6(v11)Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the…
Habakkuk 2:13(v12)Behold, isn’t it of Yahweh of Armies that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
Acts 19:24-34(v11)For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen, whom he…
Revelation 19:19-21(v11)I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse, and against…
61 distinct cross-references across this passage (65 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv9–12Whatsoever they bestow upon their idols, to make them…
Whatsoever they bestow upon their idols, to make them to seem glorious.
That is, the idolaters seeing their idols blind, most needs be witnesses of their own blindness, and feeling that they are not able to help them, must confess that they have no power.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv9–12Isa 44:9 They that make a graven image [are]…
Isa 44:9 They that make a graven image [are] all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they [are] their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
Ver. 9. And their delectable things.] Their idols and puppets, which they so dearly affect and take so great delight in. He speaketh thus, saith Diodate, because that idolatry is a kind of spiritual concupiscence, and unchaste or disordered love, like as fornication or adultery.
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And they are their own witnesses, &c.] Or, Even themselves are their own witnesses to their shame, that they neither see nor know aught.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv9–12Are all of them vanity; hereby discover themselves to…
Are all of them vanity; hereby discover themselves to be vain, empty, or foolish men. Or thus, They that make graven images, all of them make (which word may fitly be repeated out of the foregoing clause, as is very usual in Scripture)
a vanity, or a thing of nought. Which translation seems better to agree,
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1. With the following clause, which is added to explain this, in which, not the idol-makers, but the idols themselves, are said to be vain or unprofitable.
2. With the use of the Hebrew word in Scripture, which is never applied to persons, but constantly to things, and sometimes to idols, as 1Sa 12:21.
Their delectable things; their idols, in the sight and worship of which they take so much pleasure.
They are their own witnesses; they that make them are witnesses against themselves, and against their idols, because they very well know that they are not gods, but the work of their own hands, in which there is nothing but mean matter and man’s art.
They see not, nor know; or, that
they (to wit, their idols) do not see nor know, have neither sense nor understanding.
That they may be ashamed; therefore they have just cause to be ashamed of their folly and stupidity, in worshipping such senseless things.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v9Often before, God, by the prophet, had mentioned the…
Often before, God, by the prophet, had mentioned the folly and strange sottishness of idolaters; but here he enlarges upon that head, and very fully and particularly exposes them to contempt and ridicule. This discourse is intended, 1. To arm the people of Israel against the strong temptation they would be in to worship idols when they were captives in Babylon, in compliance with the custom of the country (they being far from the city of their own solemnities) and to humour those who were now their lords and masters. 2. To cure them of their inclination to idolatry, which was the sin that did most easily beset them and to reform them from which they were sent into Babylon. As the rod of God is of use to enforce the word, so the word of God is of use to explain the rod, that the voice of both together may be heard and answered. 3. To furnish them with something to say to their Chaldean task-masters. When they insulted over them, when they asked, Where is your God? they might hence ask them, What are your gods? 4. To take off their fear of the gods of their enemies, and to encourage their hope in their own God that he would certainly appear against those who set up such scandalous competitors as these with him for the throne.
Now here, for the conviction of idolaters, we have,
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I. A challenge given to them to clear themselves, if they can, from the imputation of the most shameful folly and senselessness imaginable, Isa 44:9-11. They set their wits on work to contrive, and their hands on work to frame, graven images, and they call them their delectable things; extremely fond they are of them, and mighty things they expect from them. Note, Through the corruption of men's nature, those things that should be detestable to them are desirable and delectable; but those are far gone in a distemper to whom that which is the food and fuel of it is most agreeable. Now, 1. We tell them that those that do so are all vanity; they deceive themselves and one another, and put a great cheat upon those for whom they make these images. 2. We tell them that their delectable things shall not profit them, nor make them any return for the pleasure they take in them; they can neither supply them with good nor protect them from evil. The graven images are profitable for nothing at all, nor will they ever get any thing by the devoirs they pay to them. 3. We appeal to themselves whether it be not a silly sottish thing to expect any good from gods of their own making: They are their own witnesses, witnesses against themselves, if they would but give their own consciences leave to deal faithfully with them, that they are blind and ignorant in doing thus. They see not nor know, and let them own it, that they may be ashamed. If men would but be true to their own convictions, ordinarily we might be sure of their conversion, particularly idolaters; for who has formed a god? Who but a mad-man, or one out of his wits, would think of forming a god, of making that which, if he make it a god, he must suppose to be his maker? 4. We challenge them to plead their own cause with any confidence or assurance. If any one has the front to say that he has formed a god, when all his fellows come together to declare what each of them has done towards the making of this god, they will all be ashamed of the cheat they have put upon themselves, and laugh in their sleeves at those whom they have imposed upon; for the workmen that formed this god are of men, weak and impotent, and therefore cannot possibly make a being that shall be omnipotent, nor can they without blushing pretend to do so. Let them all be gathered together, as Demetrius and the craftsmen were, to support their sinking trade; let them stand up to plead their own cause, and make the best they can of it, with hand joined in hand; yet they shall fear to undertake it when it comes to the setting to, as conscious to themselves of the weakness and badness of their cause, and they shall be ashamed of it, not only when they appear singly, but when by appearing together they hope to keep one another in countenance. Note, Idolatry and impiety are things which men may justly both tremble and blush to appear in the defence of.
II. A particular narrative of the whole proceeding in making a god; and there needs no more to expose it than to describe it and tell the story of it.
1. The persons employed about it are handicraft tradesmen, the meanest of them, the very same that you would employ in making the common utensils of your husbandry, a cart or a plough. You must have a smith, a blacksmith, who with the tongs works in the coals; and it is hard work, for he works with the strength of his arms, till he is hungry and his strength fails, so eager is he, and so hasty are those who set him at the work to get it despatched. He cannot allow himself time to eat or drink, for he drinks no water, and therefore is faint, Isa 44:12. Perhaps it was a piece of superstition among them for the workman not to eat or drink while he was making a god. The plates with which the smith was to cover the image, or whatever iron-work was to be done about it, he fashioned with hammers, and made it all very exact, according to the model given him. Then comes the carpenter, and he takes as much care and pains about the timber-work, Isa 44:13. He brings his box of tools, for he has occasion for them all: He stretches out his rule upon the piece of wood, marks it with a line, where it must be sawed or cut of; he fits it, or polishes it, with planes, the greater first and then the less; he marks out with the compasses what must be the size and shape of it; and it is just what he pleases.
2. The form in which it is made is that of a man, a poor, weak, dying creature; but it is the noblest form and figure that he is acquainted with, and, being his own, he has a peculiar fondness for it and is willing to put all the reputation he can upon it. He makes it according to the beauty of a man, in comely proportion, with those limbs and lineaments that are the beauty of a man, but are altogether unfit to represent the beauty of the Lord. God put a great honour upon man when, in respect of the powers and faculties of his souls, he made him after the image of God; but man does a great dishonour to God when he makes him, in respect of bodily parts and members, after the image of man. Nor will it at all atone for the affront so far to compliment his god as to take the fairest of the children of men for his original whence to take his copy, and to give him all the beauty of a man that he can think of; for all the beauty of the body of a man, when pretended to be put upon him who is an infinite Spirit, is a deformity and diminution to him. And, when the goodly piece is finished, it must remain in the house, in the temple or shrine prepared for it, or perhaps in the dwelling house if it be one of the lares or penates - the household gods.
3. The matter of which it is mostly made is sorry stuff to make a god of; it is the stock of a tree.
(1.) The tree itself was fetched out of the forest, where it grew among other trees, of no more virtue or value than its neighbours. It was a cedar, it may be, or a cypress, or an oak, Isa 44:14. Perhaps he had an eye upon it some time before for this use, and strengthened it for himself, used some art or other to make it stronger and better-grown than other trees were. Or, as some read it, which hath strengthened or lifted up itself among the trees of the forest, the tallest and strongest he can pick out. Or, it may be, it pleases his fancy better to take an ash, which is of a quicker growth, and which was of his own planting for this use, and which has been nourished with rain from heaven. See what a fallacy he puts upon himself, in making that his refuge which was of his own planting, and which he not only gave the form to, but prepared the matter for; and what an affront he puts upon the God of heaven in setting up that a rival with him which was nourished by his rain, that rain which falls upon the just and unjust.
(2.) The boughs of this tree were good for nothing but for fuel; to that use were they put, and so were the chips that were cut off from it in the working of it; they are for a man to burn, Isa 44:15, Isa 44:16. To show that that tree has no innate virtue in it for its own protection, it is as capable of being burnt as any other tree; and, to show that he who chose it had no more antecedent value for it than for any other tree, he makes no difficulty of throwing part of it into the fire as common rubbish, asking no question for conscience' sake. [1.] It serves him for his parlour-fire: He will take thereof and warm himself (Isa 44:15), and he finds the comfort of it, and is so far from having any regret in his mind for it that he saith, Aha! I am warm; I have seen the fire; and certainly that part of the tree which served him for fuel, the use for which God and nature designed it, does him a much greater kindness and yields him more satisfaction than ever that will which he makes a god of. [2.] It serves him for his kitchen-fire: He eats flesh with it, that is, he dresses the flesh with it which he is to eat; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied that he has not done amiss to put it to this use. Nay, [3.] It serves him to heat the oven with, in which we use that fuel which is of least value: He kindles it and bakes bread with the heat of it, and none charges him with doing wrong.
(3.) Yet, after all, the stock or body of the tree shall serve to make a god of, when it might as well have served to make a bench, as one of themselves, even a poet of their own, upbraids them, Horat. Sat. 1.8:
Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum,
Quum faber, incertus scamnum faceretne Priapum,
Maluit esse deum; deus inde ego -
In days of yore our godship stood
A very worthless log of wood,
The joiner, doubting or to shape us
Into a stool or a Priapus,
At length resolved, for reasons wise,
Into a god to bid me rise.
- Francis
And another of them threatens the idol to whom he had committed the custody of his woods that, if he did not preserve them to be fuel for his fire, he should himself be made use of for that purpose:
Furaces moneo manus repellas,
Et silvam domini focis reserves,
Si defecerit haec, et ipse lignum es.
Drive the plunderers away, and preserve the wood
for thy master's hearth, or thou thyself shalt
be converted into fuel.
- Martial
When the besotted idolater has thus served the meanest purposes with part of his tree, and the rest has had time to season (he makes that a god in his imagination while that is in the doing, and worships it): He makes it a graven image, and falls down thereto (Isa 44:15), that is (Isa 44:17), The residue thereof he makes a god, even his graven image, according to his fancy and intention; he falls down to it, and worships it, gives divine honours to it, prostrates himself before it in the most humble reverent posture, as a servant, as a suppliant; he prays to it, as having a dependence upon it, and great expectations from it; he saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god. There where he pays his homage and allegiance he justly looks for protection and deliverance. What a strange infatuation is this, to expect help from gods that cannot help themselves! But it is this praying to them that makes them gods, not what the smith or the carpenter did to them. What we place our confidence in for deliverance that we make a god of.
Qui fingit sacros, auro vel marmore, vultus
Non facit ille deos; qui rogat, ille facit.
He who supplicates the figure, whether it be
of gold or of marble, makes it a god, and not
he who merely constructs it.
- Martial
III. Here is judgment given upon this whole matter, Isa 44:18-20. In short, it is the effect and evidence of the greatest stupidity and sottishness that one could ever imagine rational beings to be guilty of, and shows that man has become worse than the beasts that perish; for they act according to the dictates of sense, but man acts not according to the dictates of reason (Isa 44:18): They have not known nor understood common sense; men that act rationally in other things in this act most absurdly. Though they have some knowledge and understanding, yet they are strangers to, nay, they are rebels against the great law of consideration (Isa 44:12): None considers in his heart, nor has so much application of mind as to reason thus with himself, which one would think he might easily do, though there were none to reason with him: "I have burnt part of this tree in the fire, for baking and roasting; and now shall I make the residue thereof an abomination?" (that is, an idol, for that is an abomination to God and all wise and good men); "shall I ungratefully choose to do, or presumptuously dare to do, what the Lord hates? shall I be such a fool as to fall down to the stock of a tree - a senseless, lifeless, helpless thing? shall I so far disparage myself, and make myself like that I bow down to?" A growing tree may be a beautiful stately thing, but the stock of a tree has lost its glory, and he has lost his that gives glory to it. Upon the whole, the sad character given of these idolaters is, 1. That they put a cheat upon themselves (Isa 44:20): They feed on ashes; they feed themselves with hopes of advantage by worshipping these idols, but they will be disappointed as much as a man that would expect nourishment by feeding on ashes. Feeding on ashes is an evidence of a depraved appetite and a distempered body; and it is a sign that the soul is overpowered by very bad habits when men, in their worship, go no further than the sight of their eyes will carry them. They are wretchedly deluded, and it is their own fault: A deceived heart of their own, more than the deceiving tongue of others, has turned them aside from the faith and worship of the living God to dumb idols. They are drawn away of their own lusts and enticed. The apostasy of sinners from God is owing entirely to themselves and to the evil heart of unbelief that is in their own bosom. A revolting and rebellious heart is a deceived heart. 2. That they wilfully persist in their self-delusion and will not be undeceived. There is none of them that can be persuaded so far to suspect himself as to say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? and so to think of delivering his soul. Note, (1.) Idolaters have a lie in their right hand; for an idol is a lie, is not what it pretends, performs not what it promises, and it is a teacher of lies, Hab 2:18. (2.) It highly concerns those that are secure in an evil way seriously to consider whether there be not a lie in their right hand. Is not that a lie which with complacency we hold fast as our chief good? Are our hearts set upon the wealth of the world and the pleasures of sense? They will certainly prove a lie in our right hand. And is not that a lie which with confidence we hold fast by, as the ground on which we build our hopes for heaven? If we trust to our external professions and performances, as if those would save us, we deceive ourselves with a lie in our right hand, with a house built on the sand. (3.) Self-suspicion is the first step towards self-deliverance. We cannot be faithful to ourselves unless we are jealous of ourselves. He that would deliver his soul must begin with putting this question to his own conscience. Is there not a lie in my right hand? (4.) Those that are given up to believe in a lie are under the power of strong delusions, which it is hard to get clear of, Th2 2:11.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv9–12They that make a graven image are all of…
They that make a graven image are all of them vanity,.... They show themselves to be vain men, by making such vain things as graven images are; both images, makers, and worshippers of them are all vain, yea vanity itself:
and their delectable things shall not profit; their idols made of gold and silver, or covered with them, and adorned with precious stones, and so delightful and desirable, are of no manner of profit and advantage, unless the matter they are made of, and the ornaments about them, were converted to other uses; yet not as gods, and worshipped as such, who can be of no service to their worshippers to help them in distress, or save them from ruin:
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and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know that they may be ashamed; they that made them must be witnesses against themselves, and the idols they have made; they must be convicted in their own consciences that they cannot be gods; they must be sensible that they have no sight nor knowledge of persons and things; that they cannot see, nor know their worshippers, nor their wants, and cannot give them relief; and this they ought to acknowledge to their own shame that made them, and that their worshippers of them might be ashamed also.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv9, 11, 12Delectable things - Their idols, in which they take…
Delectable things - Their idols, in which they take so much pleasure. They - They that make them, are witnesses against themselves, and against their idols, because they know they are the work of their own hands. See not - Have neither sense nor understanding, therefore they have just cause to be ashamed of their folly, in worshipping such senseless things.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv9–12Verse 9. - 10. That they may be ashamed.…
Verse 9. - 10. That they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god - "That every one may be ashamed, that he hath formed a god"] The Bodleian MS., one of the first extant for its antiquity and authority, instead of מי mi, at the beginning of the tenth verse, has כי ki, which greatly clears up the construction of a very obscure passage. Doederlein approves of this reading. The Septuagint likewise closely connect in construction the end of Isa 44:9 with the beginning of Isa 44:10; and wholly omit the interrogative מי mi, which embarrasses the sentence: Αισχυνθησονται οἱ πλασσοντες Θεον, και γλυφοντες παντες ανωφελη· "But they shall be confounded that make a god; and they who engrave unprofitable things;" agreeably to the reading of the MS. above mentioned.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv9, 12Isa 44:9-11. They that make a graven image are…
Isa 44:9-11. They that make a graven image are vanity — Hereby discover themselves to be vain, empty, and foolish men. And their delectable things shall not profit — Their idols, in which they take so much pleasure. They are their own witnesses — They that make them are witnesses against themselves and against their idols, because they know they are not gods, but the work of their own hands. They see not, nor know — Have neither sense nor understanding, therefore they have just cause to be ashamed of their folly in worshipping such senseless things. Who hath formed a god, &c. — What man in his wits would do it? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed — The workmen who, in this work, are partners with him, by whose cost and command the work is done; or those who any way assist in this work, and join with him in worshipping the image which he makes. They are of men — They are of mankind, and therefore cannot possibly make a god. They shall be ashamed together — Though all combine together, they shall be filled with fear and confusion when God shall plead his cause against them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv9–12They that make a graven image - A graven…
They that make a graven image - A graven image is one that is cut, or sculptured out of wood or stone, in contradistinction from one that is molten, which is made by being cast. Here it is used to denote an image, or an idol-god in general. God had asserted in the previous verses his own divinity, and he now proceeds to show, at length, the vanity of idols, and of idol-worship. This same topic was introduced in Isa 40:18-20 (see the notes at that passage), but it is here pursued at greater length, and in a tone and manner far more sarcastic and severe. Perhaps the prophet had two immediate objects in view; first, to reprove the idolatrous spirit in his own time, which prevailed especially in the early part of the reign of Manasseh; and secondly, to show to the exile Jews in Babylon that the gods of the Babylonians could not protect their city, and that Yahweh could rescue his own people. He begins, therefore, by saying, that the makers of the idols were all of them vanity. Of course, the idols themselves could have no more power than their makers, and must be vanity also.
Are all of them vanity - (See the note at Isa 41:29).
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And their delectable things - Margin, ‘Desirable.’ The sense is, their valued works, their idol-gods, on which they have lavished so much expense, and which they prize so highly.
Shall not profit - Shall not be able to aid or protect them; shall be of no advantage to them (see Hab 2:18).
And they are their own witnesses - They can foretell nothing; they can furnish no aid; they cannot defend in times of danger. This may refer either to the worshippers, or to the idols themselves - and was alike true of both.
They see not - They have no power of discerning anything. How can they then foresee future events?
That they may be ashamed - The same sentiment is repeated in Isa 44:11, and in Isa 45:16. The sense is, that shame and confusion must await all who put their trust in an idol-god.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv9, 12Ashamed of the origin and imbecility of their idols.…
Ashamed of the origin and imbecility of their idols. (Calmet) --- All this may be turned against heretics, who worship their own fictions; which the Church never does. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv9–12(Isa 40:18, Isa 40:20; Isa 41:29).
(Isa 40:18, Isa 40:20; Isa 41:29).
delectable things--the idols in which they take such pride and delight.
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not profit-- (Hab 2:18).
they are their own witnesses--contrasted with, "Ye are My witnesses" (Isa 44:8). "They," that is, both the makers and the idols, are witnesses against themselves, for the idols palpably see and know nothing (Psa 115:4-8).
that they may be ashamed--the consequence deducible from the whole previous argument, not merely from the words immediately preceding, as in Isa 28:13; Isa 36:12. I say all this to show that they are doomed to perish with shame, which is their only fitting end.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv9, 129. They that make… image… vanity — The subject…
9. They that make… image… vanity — The subject is, heathendom itself can be called and become, like yourselves, my witnesses. They make idols which they know to be nothing.
They are their own witnesses — Or, Their witnesses are these things. That is, the heathen are fully aware that dumb idols can testify to absolutely nothing. “Their,” means, these makers and worshippers of idols. “These,” that is, the idols themselves. The folly of idolatry is a mark of fatuity in those engaged in it, and must lead to manifest shame. Not to shame merely, but to alarm also, when they assemble to put their system to the test.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv9–129–11. The argument opens with the assertion of the…
9–11. The argument opens with the assertion of the nothingness alike of the idol and its makers. Fear on the part of Israel would be justified if other gods besides Jehovah had any power to influence the course of history.
a graven image] for “image” in general, as ch. Isa_40:19. The writer assumes that the god is the image and nothing more; since the image is plainly the work of human hands, the god cannot be greater than men or able to save them. This of course is directly opposed to the fundamental assumption of the idolaters themselves, who distinguished between the image and the divinity represented by it (see on Isa_44:11).
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vanity] lit. “chaos,” as in Isa_40:17, Isa_41:29.
their delectable things] “the objects in which they delight,” i.e. the idols.
and they are their own witnesses] R.V. “and their own witnesses see not,” etc. Render simply: and their witnesses; their devotees, see ch. Isa_43:9. The pronoun which suggests the “own” of A.V. and R.V. is marked by the so-called puncta extraordinaria as suspicious, and is therefore unaccented. If it is retained in the text (as it may very well be) the better translation is, “and as for their witnesses, they see not” &c.
that they may be ashamed] The consequence of their ignorance expressed as a purpose.
9–20. The course of thought is as follows:
(1) The makers of images are themselves frail men, and the gods they fashion cannot profit them (9–11).
(2) The process of manufacture is then described in minute detail, shewing what an expenditure of human strength and contrivance is involved in the production of these useless deities (12 f.).
(3) Nay, the very material of which they may be composed is selected at haphazard from the trees of the forest, and might just as readily have been applied to cook the idolater’s food (14–17).
(4) Finally, with incisive and relentless logic, the writer exposes the strange infatuation which renders the idolater incapable of applying the most rudimentary principles of reason to his own actions (18–20).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv9, 11, 12(9) Are all of them vanity . . .—Once…
(9) Are all of them vanity . . .—Once more Isaiah’s favourite tohu—the symbol of the primeval chaos.
Their delectable things . . .—The generic term used for works of art (Isa_2:16), specially for what men delight to worship. (Comp. Isa_64:11; Lam_1:10.)
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They are their own witnesses . . .—Better, their witnesses (i.e., the worshippers who sing their praises) see not and know not.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv9–12Vers. 9-20. The uniqueness of God having been set…
Vers. 9-20. The uniqueness of God having been set forth, the prophet now turns to the images and the image-makers, overwhelming them with his scorn and ridicule. The passage may be compared with Jer_10:3-10 and RAPC Bar 6:8-72.
They that make a graven image are... vanity; rather, are confusion. The word used is tohu, which, together with bohu, describes the primitive chaos in Gen_1:2. (comp. Isa_24:10 Isa_34:11 Isa_40:17, 23 41:29 59:4) Their delectable things shall not profit. "Their delectable things" are their idols, which are "pets, favourites, treasures." These cannot possibly be of any advantage to them. They are their own witnesses. Their powerlessness stands confessed in their very appearance, since they are manifestly sightless and senseless. That they may be ashamed. The subject of this clause cannot be sought in the earlier part of the verse. It is the idol-makers that will be put to shame.
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Vers. 9-20. The utter folly of all kinds of idolatry.
Idolatry proper the actual worship of images is felt by modern Englishmen to be so extreme a folly that they have a difficulty in believing it to have at any time been, or still anywhere to be, the actual religion of a people. Their inclination is to regard it as a symbolism coarse and ill-judged, perhaps but yet a well-meaning symbolism, expressive of the truths of natural religion. But research into the past history of mankind, and investigation of the present condition of the nations by whom idolatry is practised, alike show a real belief in the supernatural power of the images, and a real trust in them for help and protection. Thus the idolatry directly denounced by Isaiah, extraordinary as it seems, is in fact a real form of human folly one of the many strange aberrations of the human intellect that have an actual existence; and not only so, but one that is widely prevalent. Its "utter folly" is sufficiently exposed by the prophet, and, as being generally allowed among ourselves, need not be dwelt upon. The folly of other forms of idolatry, though not much less, is not so commonly admitted, and may with advantage be pointed out in connection with portions of Scripture like the present. We may instance
I THE IDOLATRY OF PERSONS. Human beings are allowed to stand between us and God to absorb the thought, the attention, the affections, that ought to have God for their Object. Most often, perhaps, it is a child; but sometimes it is a husband, or a wife, or a lover, that holds the position, occupying the first place in our heart, and filling it to the entire exclusion of that Being who has the principal claim on us. Now, what exceeding folly is this! Is it much short of the folly of the old idolaters? To put in the place of God a mere human being, a form of flesh that may quit us at any time, that may change towards us, that has no power to help or save us, that is not much superior to the idolater"s "graven image." How often does our idol shatter itself, disappoint our hopes, disregard our wishes, become estranged from us, tear our heartstrings, trample upon our best feelings! How often is it suddenly snatched from us! God is very jealous of rivals near his throne, and very frequently takes from us, by a premature death, the idol that is imperilling our souls. Even in the best case which is alas! the worst if our idol stay with us, and do not change, what madness to be wholly wrapt up in the love of the finite, and to let go from us for its sake the love of the Infinite Being!
II THE IDOLATRY OF WEALTH. "Covetousness," St. Paul tells us, (Col_3:5) "is idolatry." There are those who make riches the object of their worship who allow the idol of gold to come between their souls and God, having more regard for the possession of wealth than for God"s approval, and a greater desire to be rich on earth than to be saints in heaven. What abject and grovelling folly is this! Wealth! So many pieces of yellow metal to be our object in life, the end-all and be-all of our existence pieces of metal that we cannot take away with us when we die (Psa_49:17) or even make sure of keeping with us during our lifetime; pieces of metal that do not save us one twinge of pain in sickness, or one pang of remorse at death! The idolatry of wealth is even greater folly than the idolatry of persons, and even more degrading to a rational being.
III THE IDOLATRY OF RANK AND STATION. Some, who despise wealth, and have no strong affection for any individuals, have an inordinate regard, a profound veneration, for the possessors of high worldly station. To number princes and nobles among their friends and acquaintances is the highest pleasure of which they are susceptible. They idolize rank, consider it a sufficient set-off against all demerits, and will stoop to anything in order to bring themselves into contact with it. Here, again, one can only exclaim What folly! Rank and station, like wealth, belong to this world only. They have to be left behind, with our everyday clothes, when we step into the grave. They are accidents which no way affect a man"s true worth, or the estimation in which he is held by those whose esteem is of the slightest account. The prince of to-day is the exile of to-morrow; the noble may become bankrupt in purse, and too often is bankrupt in reputation. Such as idolize rank and court the favour of nobles are despised by men of sense, disliked for the most part and ridiculed by those to whom they labour to make themselves acceptable.
Vers. 9-18. The irrational and the religions,
This passage is interesting, as containing the most pungent and effective sarcasm in holy writ. There are indeed the finest conceivable materials for the sarcastic in the practice of idolatry; i.e. in all those cases in which idolatry has sunk into its lowest stage. Where a statue is understood to be nothing more than the memorial or visible representation of the Divine, the language of the Hebrew prophet would not apply; but where it is regarded, as it has been and still is regarded by millions of mankind, as not only suggestive of but identical with the Deity, then these strong and scorching words are most appropriate, most crushing. They may suggest to us thoughts respecting
I RELIGION TRAVESTIED BY IRRATIONALISM. Some caricatures are clever and amusing enough, but a caricature of the sacred and the religious is both sinful and hurtful. Idolatry has gone far to dishonour and to discredit religion. The fact that men have committed such gross absurdities in connection with religion as these which Isaiah exposes and ridicules, and the fact that they have thus associated the utmost credulity with religious faith for hundreds of years under many skies, this has done much to prejudice the minds of men against the highest and purest forms of piety. So far is ignorance from being the "mother of devotion," that it is the prolific parent of infidelity. The irrational is the best friend of the sceptical and the atheistic. It is well that we understand and appreciate this now. For though the grosser forms of incredulity have disappeared, the superstitious is with us still; and superstition, though it be baptized with a Christian name and wear Christian garments, will be recognized as the irrational thing it is; it will be transfixed by the modern reformer, and be shown in its true colours, and it will weigh down the truth which it was supposed to be sustaining.
II RELIGION REPRESENTED BY REASONABLE SERVICE. AS nothing can be more utterly irrational than the conduct here described and satirized, so, on the other hand, nothing can be more reasonable, more perfectly conformed to the fitness of things, than intelligent, spiritual devotion. What can be more right and reasonable than that the creature should worship the Creator; than that the finite mind of man should seek to be instructed in the wisdom of God; than that the recipient of innumerable and inestimable mercies should offer deepest gratitude and render heartiest thanksgiving to the Author of all his mercies; than that they who have most serious duties to discharge, difficulties to surmount, burdens to bear, obligations to meet, should seek the guidance and support of the Lord of life, the Source of strength and righteousness; than that they who are daily travelling to the grave, and have no light of experience to tell them what is beyond it, should make their appeal to One who has given us such strong reasons to accept him as the Resurrection and the Life? C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v9They that make a graven image
Isa_44:9-20
They that make a graven image
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The vanity of graven images
Substituting homely prose for glowing poetry we may, after a fashion, reduce the prophets thought to propositions like the following--
1.
Neither the idol nor its god knows anything, while Jehovah knows all.
2. Neither the idol nor its god can do aught, while Jehovah is almighty.
3. Neither the idol nor its god is aught, while Jehovah is the living God, God of the entire universe, and a God of love,--in a word, the perfect Personality.
4. The worship of idols or their gods is degrading, while that of Jehovah exalts and saves the soul. (W. S. Ayres.)
The idolaters jolly:
With a dash of pungent satire, Isaiah shows what a silly man he is. We have here the whole process of god-manufacture. The poor devotee selects a cedar, or a cypress, or an oak, which probably his own hands planted many years ago; and, having hewn it down, sets to work with line, and plane, and chisel, to fashion it into the resemblance of a human being. This being done, he places it in a shrine or temple, and falls down before it, and worships it. What becomes of the rest of the tree? Oh, with it he makes a blazing fire to warm himself, or to bake his bread! So that it is quite a chance which portion of the wood becomes a god, and which portion turns to ashes on the hearth; the same tree suffices to cook food for his hungry body, and to provide an object of adoration for his hungry soul. The man is an utter fool, only to be ridiculed and laughed at; and the prophet holds him up to the derision of all sensible men, as one whose head is surely turned, or who has fairly lost his wits. (J. T.Davidson, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v9Isa_44:9-20. They that make a graven image, &c.
IDOL-MAKERS
Isa_44:9-20. They that make a graven image, &c.
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What have we in this section of this chapter? An effective exposure of the folly of a practice that was almost universal! A fact in itself worth thinking about. We see the folly of the practice, yet it prevailed without any one suspecting its absurdity! Practical lesson: Things are not necessarily right because they are common. True of matters of faith and practice. Yet there is a general tendency to take it for granted that things that are common are right. A perception of the falsity of this assumption leads some men to an opposite error—the assumption that anything that is ancient is absurd. So pendulum-like is our tendency! But the first of these errors, because it is most prevalent, is most distinctly condemned in Scripture. The special aim of Scripture is the cultivation of individuality. It teaches that God is to be worshipped with the understanding (Psa_47:7; Mar_12:33; 1Co_14:15). It commands and commends individual search after truth (Joh_5:39; Act_17:11). It warns us against idly conforming to common practices (Exo_23:2). To this aim of Scripture let us respond. Let us have the wisdom and the courage to think and act for ourselves. This is the secret of the origin of the reforms the world needed so much; the absurdity and wickedness of idolatry, witchcraft, Popery, slavery, &c., first dawned upon individual thinkers, who risked their lives in exposing the delusion to others. Thus only can the reforms the world still needs be accomplished. In the very nature of the case, the cultivation of individuality is a duty that devolves on you and me. Let us give heed to it. This an important lesson from the general purpose of our text. Note also—
I. THINGS EXEMPLARY IN THESE IDOL-MAKERS.
Like our Lord, we should be observant of things that are excellent in men whose general character and course is wrong (Luk_16:8). The idol-makers were not content merely to believe; they carried out their belief into practice. They believed that they ought to worship idols, and they made and worshipped them. So it is with idolaters to-day. How poorly we should come out, if we were put to this test. We believe many right things: that God should be worshipped, that the Sabbath should be kept holy, &c., but how about our practice? (Jas_1:22.)
2. They did not hesitate to make the sacrifices necessary to accomplish the object they deemed desirable. Many of the idols were exceedingly costly (Isa_40:19). The poorest stinted themselves that they might at least procure for themselves idols of carved wood (Isa_40:20). Before the idols they offered costly sacrifices, some of them even their children. What terrible sacrifices idolaters often make now! But we, how little we are prepared to sacrifice, in order to do what is right, and to extend the kingdom of God in the world!
II. THINGS ADMONITORY IN THESE IDOL-MAKERS.
When we look upon them thoughtfully, we learn—
1. That intellectual ability is not sufficient to save men from the grossest spiritual follies. The idolaters were not all idiots. Many of them were great statesmen, soldiers, &c. Yet they were guilty of the gross folly of idolatry. Intellect is a great gift, but there are many things for which it is insufficient. Spiritual things can be only spiritually discerned (1Co_1:21; 1Co_2:14).
2. That neglect of the duty of thinking leads men into most foolish beliefs and injurious practices (Isa_44:19. See also Isa_1:3, and outlines on that text in vol. i. pp. 7–12).
The great lesson of this text: the duty of diligent and earnest self-examination. Let us look into our right hand, and see what it is that we are cherishing there (Isa_44:20; H. E I. 4433, 4434).
THE DECEIVED HEART
Isa_44:20. He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart, &c.
The moral government of God in this world is carried on by agencies that, generally speaking, seem to us most perfectly appropriate to the accomplishment of His designs. But He sometimes chooses means that appear unlikely to bring about what He intends to effect. Such was the method He adopted to cure the Jews of their idolatry. They were addicted to it for many generations. He caused them to be carried away captive to a country in which this degradation was practised universally! Yet it was there they became totally changed in this respect. Considered in itself, there was nothing in their captivity in an idolatrous country to secure this end; indeed it rather had a contrary tendency. But it was the grace of God working with their affliction that rendered it productive of this unexpected result. The warnings and instructions of the prophets accompanied the affliction, and the blessing of God rested on both; while they looked on the idolatrous practices, God’s messengers pointed out their absurdity, degradation, and danger. This chapter was designed for this purpose. But while our text refers to the folly of the idolater, it admits of easy and legitimate application to all the fallen children of Adam who are in their unrenewed state. They are turned aside by a deceived heart; they are feeding on ashes; they cannot deliver their souls, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
I. THE NATURE OF THAT DECEPTION BY WHICH AN UNCONVERTED PERSON IS INFLUENCED. “A deceived heart hath turned him aside.” The deception is therefore—
1. Fundamental in its character. It has its seat in the very centre of his being. It perniciously affects his governing principles. Principles determine action. True, bad men will sometimes, through the operation of outward causes, act contrary to their secret inclinations; and a good man, overborne by temptation, may act contrary to his settled principles (Rom_7:18-19). Peter denied his Master at the very time when his principles, if carried out, would have led him to come forward in His defence. But deception of the heart consists not merely in having the principles overruled by the force of temptation, but in the principles themselves being wrong. In this case, the very springs of a man’s action are out of place, and consequently wrong must be the rule by which he walks and the judgment which he forms. When the fountain is corrupt, all the streams that issue from it will be corrupt. When the heart is in error, all that depends upon its unaided decisions must be erroneous (Pro_4:23; H. E. I. 2689–2693).
2. It is powerful in the influence which it exerts. Whether a man will walk in the paths of virtue or of vice, depends entirely on the state of his heart, for in all cases it is true that “as he thinketh in his heart so is he.” His conduct will sooner or later be of the character to which that inclines. Such is the influence of the heart over the inferior faculties that, whatever resistance they may set up at first, it will be but feeble and temporary. There are instances on record—even in regard to good men, as David in the matter of Uriah, and Peter in denying Christ—in which the inferior faculties, not being fully subject to the heart, have, like a factious colony, revolted; but the heart, being right and strong, has exerted its sovereign power, and they have been again reduced to subjection, order, and obedience. On the other hand, in hypocrites and persons partially awakened, the inferior powers have been wrought upon to a great extent; but the heart not being changed, they have soon drawn back to its government and control. The intellect is curiously affected by the heart. How much the heart has to do with the opinions we hold! With what ease a person is brought to believe that to which he is inclined! (P. D. 119, 2382, 3057). How apt the judgment is to protest against that to which the heart is opposed! Such was the powerful influence by which the Jews, in the days of the Prophet, were retained in their idolatrous practices. It was seen to be equally efficacious in the days of our Lord. The corrupt hearts of the Pharisees were averse to His claims, and their aversion influenced their wills to reject and destroy Him; if at any time they found conviction stealing over them, it was met within by a powerful check. They saw, and yet they hated, both our Lord and His Father.
3. The existence of this deception is usually unsuspected, because it is so natural and easy in its mode of operation. Amongst all the reasons assigned for indifference about the state of the soul in the sight of God, this is not the least frequently assigned, that the mind is now at ease. Most persons think that nothing but fanatical zeal can make a man anxiously concerned for himself, or induce him deliberately to awaken suspicion in the reposing souls of others. But there is a quietness which deserves to be dreaded more than the greatest distress that can be experienced. It is the quietness of spiritual death—a false peace arising from the spiritual ignorance of its possessors, or the delusion of others by whom they are led (Jer_6:14; H. E. I. 1327–1333). Though conversions are not all after one pattern, yet there are few whose present spiritual comfort, if it be worth anything, has not been preceded by a severe spiritual conflict.
What is required of every one who would avoid the delusion specified in our text? It is that he should act with regard to the momentous concerns of the soul as he does in reference to the interests of the present life. When a man is about to purchase an estate, he most carefully examines the title to it that is offered him. But how seldom are the Scriptures searched for the express purpose of bringing the heart to that test! But consider—
II. THE PROOFS OF THIS DECEPTION WHICH ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE SINNER’S LIFE AND CONDUCT. “He feedeth on ashes.” A deceived heart is known—
1. By the vitiated taste which characterises its possessor—by the utter insufficiency and impropriety of those things by which he, as an immortal being, seeks to satisfy the desires of his spiritual nature; just as, when we see a person craving after that which cannot be of any benefit to him, we conclude at once that there is a diseased condition of body, or a perverted state of mind. Only in God can there be found the satisfaction for the soul’s craving after happiness (H. E. I. 2379–2387, 4627–4630). But instead of looking to Him, the man of deceived heart endeavours to supply His place with inefficient substitutes—the things of this world. “He feedeth on ashes,” sensual enjoyments, schemes of worldly pleasure, delusive hopes (P. D. 1680).
2. By the injurious tendencies of the man’s practices. He who “feedeth on ashes” not only debars himself of what is good, but also inflicts upon his constitution a positive evil, by rendering himself incapable of relishing necessary future good when he may feel disposed for its enjoyment. As true of the soul as of the body! The longer repentance is delayed the more difficult it becomes; the longer vice reigns in the heart, the more arduous and painful is the work of its expulsion. [1417] “Feeding on ashes” must also affect the future. That there are degrees of glory we are clearly taught in the Scriptures; but by what rule are they regulated except by the measure of grace received and cultivated here? (P. D. 412, 1752).
[1417] To which of the saints can we turn who did not enlist under the banner of the Cross until late in life, and after a terrible course of error and profanity, who does not find, to his deep regret, that in the time of his former ignorance he was not only keeping himself from the proper nourishment of his soul, but also that the ashes on which he then fed have left behind injurious consequences, which now prevent him from enjoying so much as he otherwise would of the excellency of Christ and His Gospel? When the memory has been previously stored, and perhaps at a very early period of life, with the pernicious productions of a licentious press, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to forget them, and supply their place with better things. When the affections have been firmly set on the vanities of time and sense, and through a long period have exercised their strength upon a certain set of objects, it will be extremely difficult to prevent the intrusion of those objects; and that, too, when they ought especially to be annihilated. Many and painful will be the struggles between these and better things for the throne of the heart.—Slye.
3. It is seen in that contentment and satisfaction the man appears to possess. “He feedeth on ashes.” He does not take them as a medicine that has been prescribed for him; he sits down to them as a meal, as a matter of habit and choice! How pitiable!
III. THE DIREFUL EFFECTS OF THIS PRACTICE ON THE SINNER. “He cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” If the body be diseased in some of its inferior or less essential parts, the vital organs being healthy and the constitution good, it may recover itself, and again perform its wonted actions; but if the seat of life be affected, there is no hope of recovery but by a miracle, or that which nearly approaches to it. It is just so with a deceived heart. Sin has untuned the instrument, and though it has still left the strings, they have no power to rectify themselves. In a dead body there are all the properties for action, and there may be some of the animal warmth, while there is no animation, but the lifeless mass cannot recover itself. No more can the man who has long fed upon “ashes.” The very desire, as well as the ability, to rise to a nobler life passes away from him (H. E. I. 1527).—James Slye: Home Exercises, pp. 33–66.
Mistaken notions of image-worship may lead us to regard it with an air of scorn, as too silly and infatuated ever to find a place in Christianised communities; but let us not be deceived; the pagan does not bow down to the mere material of which his god is formed; he believes it to be fraught with a divine power and intelligence, that in it or in his act of worship there resides a secret virtue; and whenever the symbol in Christian worship is believed to have in itself an efficacious virtue, whenever religious acts as such, religious ceremonies or places of worship, are supposed to be possessed of a peculiar sacredness and saving efficacy, we have only a refined species of image-worship. But if not images, we have our idols in abundance. The gods of our day may not have an outward embodiment, but not the less loyal are their votaries to them. Men are prone to make idols of mammon and worldly desires and selfish ambitions. Human nature is substantially the same in all ages. The follies of bygone times are continually being reproduced, and instead of exciting our ridicule, they should call us to examine our own conduct.
The text concludes the Prophet’s scathing exposure of the folly of idol-manufacture and idol-worship, which he traces up to “a deceived heart.” “So wrapped up is he in his delusion that he never thinks of examining the grounds of his hope.” May not this explain every false confidence, and every sinful course? As the long practice of idolatry blinds the idolater to its folly, so every sin and superstitious trust has a blinding effect. The lie in the hand becomes a lie in the heart, and the lie in the heart keeps the lie in the hand. Practice and belief have a reciprocal influence. Self-deception is at once the fruit and the seed of sin (H. E. I. 4538). Sin works spiritual blindness, so that the sinner is like a ship in a fog, or a traveller in a deep ravine who knows not his direction on account of the overhanging cliffs and dense foliage (Mat_6:23); nay, he is worse, for not only is he unable to review his conduct and test his principles, he is indisposed to do so, and it never even suggests itself to him that he is possibly on a wrong track. Look at some of the causes and forms of self-delusion in regard to a sinful life and a foolish confidence, both of which are denoted by “the hand,” as that which acts and that which grasps:—
1. Ignorance of self and neglect of self-scrutiny. Men busy themselves in exploring the expanse of the sky, and ranging the bodies of the universe, while they neglect to scrutinise their own hearts. They recoil from self-examination because it is painful. “O grievous strait!” cries one; “if I look into myself I cannot endure myself; if I see not myself I am deceived, and death is unavoidable.” Surely it is better to open the wound than to let it mortify. If only the sinner would pause and reflect, he might discover the lie to which he is clinging and the deception that lurks in his heart (Psa_139:23-24).
2. The false religions of the world. Even the heathen have a sense of guilt and a fear of retribution, and when they ask, “How can we obtain pardon and peace?” their own hearts cannot tell, nature gives no response; but the superstitions of the world come to their aid with soothing opiates for a guilty conscience. They are taught to propitiate the gods by bloody rites. So strong is the sense of guilt that the deluded Hindoo practises upon himself every form of torture, prostrating himself before the wheels of the car of Juggernaut. The Mohammedan is very scrupulous in his fasts and prayers, or undertakes a toilsome journey to the tomb of the false prophet, hoping thus to expiate his guilt and obtain a passport to paradise. The Romanist confesses his sin into the ear of a priest, and implores the aid of the Virgin and the saints. The indulgences which he can purchase are paper falsehoods, but so deluded is he that he does not ask, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” In these ways the false religions of the world encourage their votaries in sin and self-deception. All of them are offshoots and creations of depraved human nature (Deu_29:19).
3. The practice of giving soft and soothing names to sin to disguise its real nature. The lie in the hand is concealed by the lie in the heart, when plausible names are given to dishonourable actions. A man who ruins himself by some degrading vice is said to be “a good-hearted fellow, who harms no one but himself;” a shameful sin is but “a misfortune.” Thus are men led into the belief that there is no such thing as sin at all. They hide their eyes from its sinfulness, and live in the practice of it, because they think lightly of it.
4. The excuses of our own evil hearts (Jer_17:9). In ancient times men ascribed their moral delinquencies to the influence of the stars under which they were born, casting their guilt upon the circumstances of their birth, and imagining that they were under a fatal influence which compelled them to sin (Jer_7:10). Many still believe themselves to be the slaves of inflexible fate, and are bold enough to charge their Maker with their guilt, like Burns, who wrote—
“Thou knowest that Thou hast formed me
With passions wild and strong;
And listening to their witching voice
Has often led me wrong.”
They declare themselves to be the victims of circumstance, unable to help themselves (Gen_3:12; Jas_1:13).
CONCLUSION.—
1. The degradation and disappointment of the self-deceived. “He feedeth on ashes,” which cannot nourish nor satisfy (Deu_32:32; Luk_15:16). No solid comfort nor abiding peace is found in the lies to which the natural heart has recourse. Foolish man is like the ostrich that tries to elude the pursuit of the hunters by hiding its head in the sand. Lies in heart and life shall have lies for their reward—ashes instead of food. In Doddridge’s well-known hymn, “O Happy Day,” there is a reference to our text, which in some collections has been tampered with. The verse runs—
“Now rest, my long-divided heart;
Fixed on this blissful centre, rest:
With ashes who would grudge to part,
When called on angels’ bread to feast!”
2. The helplessness of the self-deluded. “He cannot deliver his soul” by detecting the delusions in which he is ensnared. Nothing short of Divine power and heavenly light can break the spell under which he lies (Joh_16:8-11; Eph_5:13-14).—William Guthrie, M.A.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v9The Vanity of Idolatry over against Jehovah
The Vanity of Idolatry over against Jehovah
v. 9. They that make a graven image, those who manufacture idols, are all of them vanity, nothingness, desolation; and their delectable things, the idols for which they profess such a deep affection, shall not profit, not being able to help them in any way; and they are their own witnesses; they see not nor know, the idol-worshipers themselves testifying that their gods are both blind and ignorant, that they, the idolaters, may be ashamed, for their attitude condemns them.
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v. 10. Who hath formed a god or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? The answer which is implied would clearly state: No one while he is in his right mind.
v. 11. Behold, all his fellows, the entire guild of idol-makers, shall be ashamed, and the workmen, those who direct the work, they are of men, themselves creatures and therefore unable to make a real god. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up, to make an issue of their claim to recognition before the true God; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together, the hollowness and emptiness of their doing will be exposed before all witnesses. This is followed by a concrete, detailed description of idol-manufacture as practiced in those days, full of the keenest ironical allusions.
v. 12. The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals and fashioneth it with hammers, rather, in the impersonal form of the original, "One fashioneth iron with the cold-chisel, and causeth it to glow in coals, and with hammers formeth it," and worketh it with the strength of his arms; yea, he is hungry, and his strength falleth; he drinketh no water and is faint. He is so busily engaged that he neglects even eating and drinking, until he becomes utterly exhausted. A similar energy is shown in the case of wooden idols.
v. 13. The carpenter stretcheth out his rule, again impersonal, "One felleth trees, draweth his line," in order to cut a piece of wood of the required size; he marketh it out with a line, he fitteth it with planes, marking off the figure with a stylus, and he marketh it out with the compass, so that the outside wood may be removed exactly, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, for the idols were given the most handsome appearance, in many instances, that it may remain in the house, be enclosed permanently in a small place, whereas the true God does not live in houses made by men.
v. 14. He heweth him down cedars and taketh the cypress and the oat, rather, "In order to have the finest wood, he chooseth the helm-oak and the common oak," both of them distinguished for the excellence of their wood, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest, carefully nurturing such a tree among the giants of the forest; he planteth an ash, a fir or cedar, and the rain doth nourish it, so that, in the course of years, it reaches its proper size, the description of the long wait tending to show the ridiculous aspect of the idolater’s activity.
v. 15. Then shall it be for a man to burn, that is, ordinarily such a tree will yield fuel; for he will take thereof and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god and worshipeth it; as he does the one thing, so he does the other, not realizing how utterly foolish the latter act is in comparison with the former; he maketh it a graven image and falleth down thereto, in the usual act of adoration. The contrast is brought out still more emphatically in the next sentences.
v. 16. He burneth part thereof in the fire, for fuel to keep him warm; with part thereof he eateth flesh, using it for cooking; he roasteth roast and is satisfied, feeling perfectly content; yea, he warmeth himself and saith, Aha! an exclamation expressing the height of comfort, I am warm, I have seen the fire, felt its pleasant effect;
v. 17. and the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image, what he calls his god; he falleth down unto it, and worshipeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god, this prayer being the very climax of foolish behavior, which, however, the idoiaters do not realize.
v. 18. They have not known nor understood, they do not realize the inconsistency of their conduct; for He hath shut their eyes, rather, their eyes are daubed shut, that they cannot see, and their hearts that they cannot understand, that they do not learn true wisdom. Cf Rom 1:18-21.
v. 19. And none considereth in his heart, so much as thinks over his act, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, in reflecting upon his own conduct, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also, I have baked bread upon the coals thereof, upon the glowing bed of coals; I have roasted flesh and eaten it, and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? to the figure which the tree yielded, the idol which it, in a manner of speaking, produces. The idolaters become utterly callous to the rank inconsistency of their behavior, to the unreasonableness of their worship.
v. 20. He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside, or, more emphatically, "He who watcheth over ashes—a foolish heart has led him astray," that he cannot deliver his soul, his idolatry leads him into eternal damnation, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Spiritual blindness is always, in the first instance, self-inflicted; he that persists in it is eternally lost. On the other hand, the believers, the children of God, the true members of the spiritual Israel, are in happy possession of their deliverance, of the forgiveness of their sins.
v. 21. Remember these, namely, what the Lord is about to say, O Jacob and Israel, His people, for thou art My servant, not a foolish idol-manufacturer; I have formed thee, thou art My servant, by virtue of his having been chosen by Jehovah. O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of Me, the admonition, Forget Me not! coming with emphasis at the end of this sentence.
v. 22. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, so that they are completely erased, thy transgressions, even such as meant a severing of the covenant relations, and, as a cloud, thy sins, that is, in the same way as the sun dissolves and drives away the darkness of a heavy cloud. Return unto Me, for I have redeemed thee; with him, in his redemption, is life and salvation. This promise causes the prophet to address a rousing admonition to the entire creation.
v. 23. Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it, the deliverance has been gained; shout, ye lower parts of the earth, everything beneath the skies; break forth into singing, ye mountains, as the most prominent parts of the landscape, O forest and every tree therein; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob and glorified Himself in Israel, wherefore all the creatures of the universe should sing praises to this miracle of His redemption. To the believing heart there is no limit to the songs of praise and adoration arising to the throne of grace.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv9, 11, 12General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues speaking.
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the things they delight in are worthless
"the idols they delight in are worthless"
their witnesses cannot see or know anything
This phrase refers to those who worship these idols and who claim to be witnesses of the idols' power. Yahweh speaks of their inability to understand the truth as if they were blind. AT: "those who serve as witnesses for these idols are like blind people who know nothing" (See: Metaphor)
they will be put to shame
This can be stated in active form. AT: "they will be ashamed" or "their idols will put them to shame" (See: Active or Passive)
Who would form a god or cast an idol that is worthless?
Yahweh is using this question to rebuke those who make idols. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Only fools would form a god or cast an idol that is worthless." (See: Rhetorical Question)
cast an idol that is worthless
The word "worthless" does not distinguish worthless idols from idols that have worth, because all idols are worthless. AT: "cast worthless idols" (See: Distinguishing versus Informing or Reminding)
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Whatsoever they bestow upon their idols, to make them…
Whatsoever they bestow upon their idols, to make them to seem glorious.
That is, the idolaters seeing their idols blind, most needs be witnesses of their own blindness, and feeling that they are not able to help them, must confess that they have no power.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Isa 44:9 They that make a graven image [are]…
Isa 44:9 They that make a graven image [are] all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they [are] their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
Ver. 9. And their delectable things.] Their idols and puppets, which they so dearly affect and take so great delight in. He speaketh thus, saith Diodate, because that idolatry is a kind of spiritual concupiscence, and unchaste or disordered love, like as fornication or adultery.
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And they are their own witnesses, &c.] Or, Even themselves are their own witnesses to their shame, that they neither see nor know aught.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Are all of them vanity; hereby discover themselves to…
Are all of them vanity; hereby discover themselves to be vain, empty, or foolish men. Or thus, They that make graven images, all of them make (which word may fitly be repeated out of the foregoing clause, as is very usual in Scripture)
a vanity, or a thing of nought. Which translation seems better to agree,
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1. With the following clause, which is added to explain this, in which, not the idol-makers, but the idols themselves, are said to be vain or unprofitable.
2. With the use of the Hebrew word in Scripture, which is never applied to persons, but constantly to things, and sometimes to idols, as 1Sa 12:21.
Their delectable things; their idols, in the sight and worship of which they take so much pleasure.
They are their own witnesses; they that make them are witnesses against themselves, and against their idols, because they very well know that they are not gods, but the work of their own hands, in which there is nothing but mean matter and man’s art.
They see not, nor know; or, that
they (to wit, their idols) do not see nor know, have neither sense nor understanding.
That they may be ashamed; therefore they have just cause to be ashamed of their folly and stupidity, in worshipping such senseless things.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v9 Often before, God, by the prophet, had mentioned the…
Often before, God, by the prophet, had mentioned the folly and strange sottishness of idolaters; but here he enlarges upon that head, and very fully and particularly exposes them to contempt and ridicule. This discourse is intended, 1. To arm the people of Israel against the strong temptation they would be in to worship idols when they were captives in Babylon, in compliance with the custom of the country (they being far from the city of their own solemnities) and to humour those who were now their lords and masters. 2. To cure them of their inclination to idolatry, which was the sin that did most easily beset them and to reform them from which they were sent into Babylon. As the rod of God is of use to enforce the word, so the word of God is of use to explain the rod, that the voice of both together may be heard and answered. 3. To furnish them with something to say to their Chaldean task-masters. When they insulted over them, when they asked, Where is your God? they might hence ask them, What are your gods? 4. To take off their fear of the gods of their enemies, and to encourage their hope in their own God that he would certainly appear against those who set up such scandalous competitors as these with him for the throne.
Now here, for the conviction of idolaters, we have,
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I. A challenge given to them to clear themselves, if they can, from the imputation of the most shameful folly and senselessness imaginable, Isa 44:9-11. They set their wits on work to contrive, and their hands on work to frame, graven images, and they call them their delectable things; extremely fond they are of them, and mighty things they expect from them. Note, Through the corruption of men's nature, those things that should be detestable to them are desirable and delectable; but those are far gone in a distemper to whom that which is the food and fuel of it is most agreeable. Now, 1. We tell them that those that do so are all vanity; they deceive themselves and one another, and put a great cheat upon those for whom they make these images. 2. We tell them that their delectable things shall not profit them, nor make them any return for the pleasure they take in them; they can neither supply them with good nor protect them from evil. The graven images are profitable for nothing at all, nor will they ever get any thing by the devoirs they pay to them. 3. We appeal to themselves whether it be not a silly sottish thing to expect any good from gods of their own making: They are their own witnesses, witnesses against themselves, if they would but give their own consciences leave to deal faithfully with them, that they are blind and ignorant in doing thus. They see not nor know, and let them own it, that they may be ashamed. If men would but be true to their own convictions, ordinarily we might be sure of their conversion, particularly idolaters; for who has formed a god? Who but a mad-man, or one out of his wits, would think of forming a god, of making that which, if he make it a god, he must suppose to be his maker? 4. We challenge them to plead their own cause with any confidence or assurance. If any one has the front to say that he has formed a god, when all his fellows come together to declare what each of them has done towards the making of this god, they will all be ashamed of the cheat they have put upon themselves, and laugh in their sleeves at those whom they have imposed upon; for the workmen that formed this god are of men, weak and impotent, and therefore cannot possibly make a being that shall be omnipotent, nor can they without blushing pretend to do so. Let them all be gathered together, as Demetrius and the craftsmen were, to support their sinking trade; let them stand up to plead their own cause, and make the best they can of it, with hand joined in hand; yet they shall fear to undertake it when it comes to the setting to, as conscious to themselves of the weakness and badness of their cause, and they shall be ashamed of it, not only when they appear singly, but when by appearing together they hope to keep one another in countenance. Note, Idolatry and impiety are things which men may justly both tremble and blush to appear in the defence of.
II. A particular narrative of the whole proceeding in making a god; and there needs no more to expose it than to describe it and tell the story of it.
1. The persons employed about it are handicraft tradesmen, the meanest of them, the very same that you would employ in making the common utensils of your husbandry, a cart or a plough. You must have a smith, a blacksmith, who with the tongs works in the coals; and it is hard work, for he works with the strength of his arms, till he is hungry and his strength fails, so eager is he, and so hasty are those who set him at the work to get it despatched. He cannot allow himself time to eat or drink, for he drinks no water, and therefore is faint, Isa 44:12. Perhaps it was a piece of superstition among them for the workman not to eat or drink while he was making a god. The plates with which the smith was to cover the image, or whatever iron-work was to be done about it, he fashioned with hammers, and made it all very exact, according to the model given him. Then comes the carpenter, and he takes as much care and pains about the timber-work, Isa 44:13. He brings his box of tools, for he has occasion for them all: He stretches out his rule upon the piece of wood, marks it with a line, where it must be sawed or cut of; he fits it, or polishes it, with planes, the greater first and then the less; he marks out with the compasses what must be the size and shape of it; and it is just what he pleases.
2. The form in which it is made is that of a man, a poor, weak, dying creature; but it is the noblest form and figure that he is acquainted with, and, being his own, he has a peculiar fondness for it and is willing to put all the reputation he can upon it. He makes it according to the beauty of a man, in comely proportion, with those limbs and lineaments that are the beauty of a man, but are altogether unfit to represent the beauty of the Lord. God put a great honour upon man when, in respect of the powers and faculties of his souls, he made him after the image of God; but man does a great dishonour to God when he makes him, in respect of bodily parts and members, after the image of man. Nor will it at all atone for the affront so far to compliment his god as to take the fairest of the children of men for his original whence to take his copy, and to give him all the beauty of a man that he can think of; for all the beauty of the body of a man, when pretended to be put upon him who is an infinite Spirit, is a deformity and diminution to him. And, when the goodly piece is finished, it must remain in the house, in the temple or shrine prepared for it, or perhaps in the dwelling house if it be one of the lares or penates - the household gods.
3. The matter of which it is mostly made is sorry stuff to make a god of; it is the stock of a tree.
(1.) The tree itself was fetched out of the forest, where it grew among other trees, of no more virtue or value than its neighbours. It was a cedar, it may be, or a cypress, or an oak, Isa 44:14. Perhaps he had an eye upon it some time before for this use, and strengthened it for himself, used some art or other to make it stronger and better-grown than other trees were. Or, as some read it, which hath strengthened or lifted up itself among the trees of the forest, the tallest and strongest he can pick out. Or, it may be, it pleases his fancy better to take an ash, which is of a quicker growth, and which was of his own planting for this use, and which has been nourished with rain from heaven. See what a fallacy he puts upon himself, in making that his refuge which was of his own planting, and which he not only gave the form to, but prepared the matter for; and what an affront he puts upon the God of heaven in setting up that a rival with him which was nourished by his rain, that rain which falls upon the just and unjust.
(2.) The boughs of this tree were good for nothing but for fuel; to that use were they put, and so were the chips that were cut off from it in the working of it; they are for a man to burn, Isa 44:15, Isa 44:16. To show that that tree has no innate virtue in it for its own protection, it is as capable of being burnt as any other tree; and, to show that he who chose it had no more antecedent value for it than for any other tree, he makes no difficulty of throwing part of it into the fire as common rubbish, asking no question for conscience' sake. [1.] It serves him for his parlour-fire: He will take thereof and warm himself (Isa 44:15), and he finds the comfort of it, and is so far from having any regret in his mind for it that he saith, Aha! I am warm; I have seen the fire; and certainly that part of the tree which served him for fuel, the use for which God and nature designed it, does him a much greater kindness and yields him more satisfaction than ever that will which he makes a god of. [2.] It serves him for his kitchen-fire: He eats flesh with it, that is, he dresses the flesh with it which he is to eat; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied that he has not done amiss to put it to this use. Nay, [3.] It serves him to heat the oven with, in which we use that fuel which is of least value: He kindles it and bakes bread with the heat of it, and none charges him with doing wrong.
(3.) Yet, after all, the stock or body of the tree shall serve to make a god of, when it might as well have served to make a bench, as one of themselves, even a poet of their own, upbraids them, Horat. Sat. 1.8:
Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum,
Quum faber, incertus scamnum faceretne Priapum,
Maluit esse deum; deus inde ego -
In days of yore our godship stood
A very worthless log of wood,
The joiner, doubting or to shape us
Into a stool or a Priapus,
At length resolved, for reasons wise,
Into a god to bid me rise.
- Francis
And another of them threatens the idol to whom he had committed the custody of his woods that, if he did not preserve them to be fuel for his fire, he should himself be made use of for that purpose:
Furaces moneo manus repellas,
Et silvam domini focis reserves,
Si defecerit haec, et ipse lignum es.
Drive the plunderers away, and preserve the wood
for thy master's hearth, or thou thyself shalt
be converted into fuel.
- Martial
When the besotted idolater has thus served the meanest purposes with part of his tree, and the rest has had time to season (he makes that a god in his imagination while that is in the doing, and worships it): He makes it a graven image, and falls down thereto (Isa 44:15), that is (Isa 44:17), The residue thereof he makes a god, even his graven image, according to his fancy and intention; he falls down to it, and worships it, gives divine honours to it, prostrates himself before it in the most humble reverent posture, as a servant, as a suppliant; he prays to it, as having a dependence upon it, and great expectations from it; he saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god. There where he pays his homage and allegiance he justly looks for protection and deliverance. What a strange infatuation is this, to expect help from gods that cannot help themselves! But it is this praying to them that makes them gods, not what the smith or the carpenter did to them. What we place our confidence in for deliverance that we make a god of.
Qui fingit sacros, auro vel marmore, vultus
Non facit ille deos; qui rogat, ille facit.
He who supplicates the figure, whether it be
of gold or of marble, makes it a god, and not
he who merely constructs it.
- Martial
III. Here is judgment given upon this whole matter, Isa 44:18-20. In short, it is the effect and evidence of the greatest stupidity and sottishness that one could ever imagine rational beings to be guilty of, and shows that man has become worse than the beasts that perish; for they act according to the dictates of sense, but man acts not according to the dictates of reason (Isa 44:18): They have not known nor understood common sense; men that act rationally in other things in this act most absurdly. Though they have some knowledge and understanding, yet they are strangers to, nay, they are rebels against the great law of consideration (Isa 44:12): None considers in his heart, nor has so much application of mind as to reason thus with himself, which one would think he might easily do, though there were none to reason with him: "I have burnt part of this tree in the fire, for baking and roasting; and now shall I make the residue thereof an abomination?" (that is, an idol, for that is an abomination to God and all wise and good men); "shall I ungratefully choose to do, or presumptuously dare to do, what the Lord hates? shall I be such a fool as to fall down to the stock of a tree - a senseless, lifeless, helpless thing? shall I so far disparage myself, and make myself like that I bow down to?" A growing tree may be a beautiful stately thing, but the stock of a tree has lost its glory, and he has lost his that gives glory to it. Upon the whole, the sad character given of these idolaters is, 1. That they put a cheat upon themselves (Isa 44:20): They feed on ashes; they feed themselves with hopes of advantage by worshipping these idols, but they will be disappointed as much as a man that would expect nourishment by feeding on ashes. Feeding on ashes is an evidence of a depraved appetite and a distempered body; and it is a sign that the soul is overpowered by very bad habits when men, in their worship, go no further than the sight of their eyes will carry them. They are wretchedly deluded, and it is their own fault: A deceived heart of their own, more than the deceiving tongue of others, has turned them aside from the faith and worship of the living God to dumb idols. They are drawn away of their own lusts and enticed. The apostasy of sinners from God is owing entirely to themselves and to the evil heart of unbelief that is in their own bosom. A revolting and rebellious heart is a deceived heart. 2. That they wilfully persist in their self-delusion and will not be undeceived. There is none of them that can be persuaded so far to suspect himself as to say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? and so to think of delivering his soul. Note, (1.) Idolaters have a lie in their right hand; for an idol is a lie, is not what it pretends, performs not what it promises, and it is a teacher of lies, Hab 2:18. (2.) It highly concerns those that are secure in an evil way seriously to consider whether there be not a lie in their right hand. Is not that a lie which with complacency we hold fast as our chief good? Are our hearts set upon the wealth of the world and the pleasures of sense? They will certainly prove a lie in our right hand. And is not that a lie which with confidence we hold fast by, as the ground on which we build our hopes for heaven? If we trust to our external professions and performances, as if those would save us, we deceive ourselves with a lie in our right hand, with a house built on the sand. (3.) Self-suspicion is the first step towards self-deliverance. We cannot be faithful to ourselves unless we are jealous of ourselves. He that would deliver his soul must begin with putting this question to his own conscience. Is there not a lie in my right hand? (4.) Those that are given up to believe in a lie are under the power of strong delusions, which it is hard to get clear of, Th2 2:11.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–12 They that make a graven image are all of…
They that make a graven image are all of them vanity,.... They show themselves to be vain men, by making such vain things as graven images are; both images, makers, and worshippers of them are all vain, yea vanity itself:
and their delectable things shall not profit; their idols made of gold and silver, or covered with them, and adorned with precious stones, and so delightful and desirable, are of no manner of profit and advantage, unless the matter they are made of, and the ornaments about them, were converted to other uses; yet not as gods, and worshipped as such, who can be of no service to their worshippers to help them in distress, or save them from ruin:
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and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know that they may be ashamed; they that made them must be witnesses against themselves, and the idols they have made; they must be convicted in their own consciences that they cannot be gods; they must be sensible that they have no sight nor knowledge of persons and things; that they cannot see, nor know their worshippers, nor their wants, and cannot give them relief; and this they ought to acknowledge to their own shame that made them, and that their worshippers of them might be ashamed also.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12 Delectable things - Their idols, in which they take…
Delectable things - Their idols, in which they take so much pleasure. They - They that make them, are witnesses against themselves, and against their idols, because they know they are the work of their own hands. See not - Have neither sense nor understanding, therefore they have just cause to be ashamed of their folly, in worshipping such senseless things.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Verse 9. - 10. That they may be ashamed.…
Verse 9. - 10. That they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god - "That every one may be ashamed, that he hath formed a god"] The Bodleian MS., one of the first extant for its antiquity and authority, instead of מי mi, at the beginning of the tenth verse, has כי ki, which greatly clears up the construction of a very obscure passage. Doederlein approves of this reading. The Septuagint likewise closely connect in construction the end of Isa 44:9 with the beginning of Isa 44:10; and wholly omit the interrogative מי mi, which embarrasses the sentence: Αισχυνθησονται οἱ πλασσοντες Θεον, και γλυφοντες παντες ανωφελη· "But they shall be confounded that make a god; and they who engrave unprofitable things;" agreeably to the reading of the MS. above mentioned.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9, 12 Isa 44:9-11. They that make a graven image are…
Isa 44:9-11. They that make a graven image are vanity — Hereby discover themselves to be vain, empty, and foolish men. And their delectable things shall not profit — Their idols, in which they take so much pleasure. They are their own witnesses — They that make them are witnesses against themselves and against their idols, because they know they are not gods, but the work of their own hands. They see not, nor know — Have neither sense nor understanding, therefore they have just cause to be ashamed of their folly in worshipping such senseless things. Who hath formed a god, &c. — What man in his wits would do it? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed — The workmen who, in this work, are partners with him, by whose cost and command the work is done; or those who any way assist in this work, and join with him in worshipping the image which he makes. They are of men — They are of mankind, and therefore cannot possibly make a god. They shall be ashamed together — Though all combine together, they shall be filled with fear and confusion when God shall plead his cause against them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9–12 They that make a graven image - A graven…
They that make a graven image - A graven image is one that is cut, or sculptured out of wood or stone, in contradistinction from one that is molten, which is made by being cast. Here it is used to denote an image, or an idol-god in general. God had asserted in the previous verses his own divinity, and he now proceeds to show, at length, the vanity of idols, and of idol-worship. This same topic was introduced in Isa 40:18-20 (see the notes at that passage), but it is here pursued at greater length, and in a tone and manner far more sarcastic and severe. Perhaps the prophet had two immediate objects in view; first, to reprove the idolatrous spirit in his own time, which prevailed especially in the early part of the reign of Manasseh; and secondly, to show to the exile Jews in Babylon that the gods of the Babylonians could not protect their city, and that Yahweh could rescue his own people. He begins, therefore, by saying, that the makers of the idols were all of them vanity. Of course, the idols themselves could have no more power than their makers, and must be vanity also.
Are all of them vanity - (See the note at Isa 41:29).
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And their delectable things - Margin, ‘Desirable.’ The sense is, their valued works, their idol-gods, on which they have lavished so much expense, and which they prize so highly.
Shall not profit - Shall not be able to aid or protect them; shall be of no advantage to them (see Hab 2:18).
And they are their own witnesses - They can foretell nothing; they can furnish no aid; they cannot defend in times of danger. This may refer either to the worshippers, or to the idols themselves - and was alike true of both.
They see not - They have no power of discerning anything. How can they then foresee future events?
That they may be ashamed - The same sentiment is repeated in Isa 44:11, and in Isa 45:16. The sense is, that shame and confusion must await all who put their trust in an idol-god.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9, 12 Ashamed of the origin and imbecility of their idols.…
Ashamed of the origin and imbecility of their idols. (Calmet) --- All this may be turned against heretics, who worship their own fictions; which the Church never does. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv9–12 (Isa 40:18, Isa 40:20; Isa 41:29).
(Isa 40:18, Isa 40:20; Isa 41:29).
delectable things--the idols in which they take such pride and delight.
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not profit-- (Hab 2:18).
they are their own witnesses--contrasted with, "Ye are My witnesses" (Isa 44:8). "They," that is, both the makers and the idols, are witnesses against themselves, for the idols palpably see and know nothing (Psa 115:4-8).
that they may be ashamed--the consequence deducible from the whole previous argument, not merely from the words immediately preceding, as in Isa 28:13; Isa 36:12. I say all this to show that they are doomed to perish with shame, which is their only fitting end.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv9, 12 9. They that make… image… vanity — The subject…
9. They that make… image… vanity — The subject is, heathendom itself can be called and become, like yourselves, my witnesses. They make idols which they know to be nothing.
They are their own witnesses — Or, Their witnesses are these things. That is, the heathen are fully aware that dumb idols can testify to absolutely nothing. “Their,” means, these makers and worshippers of idols. “These,” that is, the idols themselves. The folly of idolatry is a mark of fatuity in those engaged in it, and must lead to manifest shame. Not to shame merely, but to alarm also, when they assemble to put their system to the test.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–12 9–11. The argument opens with the assertion of the…
9–11. The argument opens with the assertion of the nothingness alike of the idol and its makers. Fear on the part of Israel would be justified if other gods besides Jehovah had any power to influence the course of history.
a graven image] for “image” in general, as ch. Isa_40:19. The writer assumes that the god is the image and nothing more; since the image is plainly the work of human hands, the god cannot be greater than men or able to save them. This of course is directly opposed to the fundamental assumption of the idolaters themselves, who distinguished between the image and the divinity represented by it (see on Isa_44:11).
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vanity] lit. “chaos,” as in Isa_40:17, Isa_41:29.
their delectable things] “the objects in which they delight,” i.e. the idols.
and they are their own witnesses] R.V. “and their own witnesses see not,” etc. Render simply: and their witnesses; their devotees, see ch. Isa_43:9. The pronoun which suggests the “own” of A.V. and R.V. is marked by the so-called puncta extraordinaria as suspicious, and is therefore unaccented. If it is retained in the text (as it may very well be) the better translation is, “and as for their witnesses, they see not” &c.
that they may be ashamed] The consequence of their ignorance expressed as a purpose.
9–20. The course of thought is as follows:
(1) The makers of images are themselves frail men, and the gods they fashion cannot profit them (9–11).
(2) The process of manufacture is then described in minute detail, shewing what an expenditure of human strength and contrivance is involved in the production of these useless deities (12 f.).
(3) Nay, the very material of which they may be composed is selected at haphazard from the trees of the forest, and might just as readily have been applied to cook the idolater’s food (14–17).
(4) Finally, with incisive and relentless logic, the writer exposes the strange infatuation which renders the idolater incapable of applying the most rudimentary principles of reason to his own actions (18–20).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12 (9) Are all of them vanity . . .—Once…
(9) Are all of them vanity . . .—Once more Isaiah’s favourite tohu—the symbol of the primeval chaos.
Their delectable things . . .—The generic term used for works of art (Isa_2:16), specially for what men delight to worship. (Comp. Isa_64:11; Lam_1:10.)
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They are their own witnesses . . .—Better, their witnesses (i.e., the worshippers who sing their praises) see not and know not.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Vers. 9-20. The uniqueness of God having been set…
Vers. 9-20. The uniqueness of God having been set forth, the prophet now turns to the images and the image-makers, overwhelming them with his scorn and ridicule. The passage may be compared with Jer_10:3-10 and RAPC Bar 6:8-72.
They that make a graven image are... vanity; rather, are confusion. The word used is tohu, which, together with bohu, describes the primitive chaos in Gen_1:2. (comp. Isa_24:10 Isa_34:11 Isa_40:17, 23 41:29 59:4) Their delectable things shall not profit. "Their delectable things" are their idols, which are "pets, favourites, treasures." These cannot possibly be of any advantage to them. They are their own witnesses. Their powerlessness stands confessed in their very appearance, since they are manifestly sightless and senseless. That they may be ashamed. The subject of this clause cannot be sought in the earlier part of the verse. It is the idol-makers that will be put to shame.
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Vers. 9-20. The utter folly of all kinds of idolatry.
Idolatry proper the actual worship of images is felt by modern Englishmen to be so extreme a folly that they have a difficulty in believing it to have at any time been, or still anywhere to be, the actual religion of a people. Their inclination is to regard it as a symbolism coarse and ill-judged, perhaps but yet a well-meaning symbolism, expressive of the truths of natural religion. But research into the past history of mankind, and investigation of the present condition of the nations by whom idolatry is practised, alike show a real belief in the supernatural power of the images, and a real trust in them for help and protection. Thus the idolatry directly denounced by Isaiah, extraordinary as it seems, is in fact a real form of human folly one of the many strange aberrations of the human intellect that have an actual existence; and not only so, but one that is widely prevalent. Its "utter folly" is sufficiently exposed by the prophet, and, as being generally allowed among ourselves, need not be dwelt upon. The folly of other forms of idolatry, though not much less, is not so commonly admitted, and may with advantage be pointed out in connection with portions of Scripture like the present. We may instance
I THE IDOLATRY OF PERSONS. Human beings are allowed to stand between us and God to absorb the thought, the attention, the affections, that ought to have God for their Object. Most often, perhaps, it is a child; but sometimes it is a husband, or a wife, or a lover, that holds the position, occupying the first place in our heart, and filling it to the entire exclusion of that Being who has the principal claim on us. Now, what exceeding folly is this! Is it much short of the folly of the old idolaters? To put in the place of God a mere human being, a form of flesh that may quit us at any time, that may change towards us, that has no power to help or save us, that is not much superior to the idolater"s "graven image." How often does our idol shatter itself, disappoint our hopes, disregard our wishes, become estranged from us, tear our heartstrings, trample upon our best feelings! How often is it suddenly snatched from us! God is very jealous of rivals near his throne, and very frequently takes from us, by a premature death, the idol that is imperilling our souls. Even in the best case which is alas! the worst if our idol stay with us, and do not change, what madness to be wholly wrapt up in the love of the finite, and to let go from us for its sake the love of the Infinite Being!
II THE IDOLATRY OF WEALTH. "Covetousness," St. Paul tells us, (Col_3:5) "is idolatry." There are those who make riches the object of their worship who allow the idol of gold to come between their souls and God, having more regard for the possession of wealth than for God"s approval, and a greater desire to be rich on earth than to be saints in heaven. What abject and grovelling folly is this! Wealth! So many pieces of yellow metal to be our object in life, the end-all and be-all of our existence pieces of metal that we cannot take away with us when we die (Psa_49:17) or even make sure of keeping with us during our lifetime; pieces of metal that do not save us one twinge of pain in sickness, or one pang of remorse at death! The idolatry of wealth is even greater folly than the idolatry of persons, and even more degrading to a rational being.
III THE IDOLATRY OF RANK AND STATION. Some, who despise wealth, and have no strong affection for any individuals, have an inordinate regard, a profound veneration, for the possessors of high worldly station. To number princes and nobles among their friends and acquaintances is the highest pleasure of which they are susceptible. They idolize rank, consider it a sufficient set-off against all demerits, and will stoop to anything in order to bring themselves into contact with it. Here, again, one can only exclaim What folly! Rank and station, like wealth, belong to this world only. They have to be left behind, with our everyday clothes, when we step into the grave. They are accidents which no way affect a man"s true worth, or the estimation in which he is held by those whose esteem is of the slightest account. The prince of to-day is the exile of to-morrow; the noble may become bankrupt in purse, and too often is bankrupt in reputation. Such as idolize rank and court the favour of nobles are despised by men of sense, disliked for the most part and ridiculed by those to whom they labour to make themselves acceptable.
Vers. 9-18. The irrational and the religions,
This passage is interesting, as containing the most pungent and effective sarcasm in holy writ. There are indeed the finest conceivable materials for the sarcastic in the practice of idolatry; i.e. in all those cases in which idolatry has sunk into its lowest stage. Where a statue is understood to be nothing more than the memorial or visible representation of the Divine, the language of the Hebrew prophet would not apply; but where it is regarded, as it has been and still is regarded by millions of mankind, as not only suggestive of but identical with the Deity, then these strong and scorching words are most appropriate, most crushing. They may suggest to us thoughts respecting
I RELIGION TRAVESTIED BY IRRATIONALISM. Some caricatures are clever and amusing enough, but a caricature of the sacred and the religious is both sinful and hurtful. Idolatry has gone far to dishonour and to discredit religion. The fact that men have committed such gross absurdities in connection with religion as these which Isaiah exposes and ridicules, and the fact that they have thus associated the utmost credulity with religious faith for hundreds of years under many skies, this has done much to prejudice the minds of men against the highest and purest forms of piety. So far is ignorance from being the "mother of devotion," that it is the prolific parent of infidelity. The irrational is the best friend of the sceptical and the atheistic. It is well that we understand and appreciate this now. For though the grosser forms of incredulity have disappeared, the superstitious is with us still; and superstition, though it be baptized with a Christian name and wear Christian garments, will be recognized as the irrational thing it is; it will be transfixed by the modern reformer, and be shown in its true colours, and it will weigh down the truth which it was supposed to be sustaining.
II RELIGION REPRESENTED BY REASONABLE SERVICE. AS nothing can be more utterly irrational than the conduct here described and satirized, so, on the other hand, nothing can be more reasonable, more perfectly conformed to the fitness of things, than intelligent, spiritual devotion. What can be more right and reasonable than that the creature should worship the Creator; than that the finite mind of man should seek to be instructed in the wisdom of God; than that the recipient of innumerable and inestimable mercies should offer deepest gratitude and render heartiest thanksgiving to the Author of all his mercies; than that they who have most serious duties to discharge, difficulties to surmount, burdens to bear, obligations to meet, should seek the guidance and support of the Lord of life, the Source of strength and righteousness; than that they who are daily travelling to the grave, and have no light of experience to tell them what is beyond it, should make their appeal to One who has given us such strong reasons to accept him as the Resurrection and the Life? C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v9 They that make a graven image
Isa_44:9-20
They that make a graven image
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The vanity of graven images
Substituting homely prose for glowing poetry we may, after a fashion, reduce the prophets thought to propositions like the following--
1.
Neither the idol nor its god knows anything, while Jehovah knows all.
2. Neither the idol nor its god can do aught, while Jehovah is almighty.
3. Neither the idol nor its god is aught, while Jehovah is the living God, God of the entire universe, and a God of love,--in a word, the perfect Personality.
4. The worship of idols or their gods is degrading, while that of Jehovah exalts and saves the soul. (W. S. Ayres.)
The idolaters jolly:
With a dash of pungent satire, Isaiah shows what a silly man he is. We have here the whole process of god-manufacture. The poor devotee selects a cedar, or a cypress, or an oak, which probably his own hands planted many years ago; and, having hewn it down, sets to work with line, and plane, and chisel, to fashion it into the resemblance of a human being. This being done, he places it in a shrine or temple, and falls down before it, and worships it. What becomes of the rest of the tree? Oh, with it he makes a blazing fire to warm himself, or to bake his bread! So that it is quite a chance which portion of the wood becomes a god, and which portion turns to ashes on the hearth; the same tree suffices to cook food for his hungry body, and to provide an object of adoration for his hungry soul. The man is an utter fool, only to be ridiculed and laughed at; and the prophet holds him up to the derision of all sensible men, as one whose head is surely turned, or who has fairly lost his wits. (J. T.Davidson, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v9 Isa_44:9-20. They that make a graven image, &c.
IDOL-MAKERS
Isa_44:9-20. They that make a graven image, &c.
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What have we in this section of this chapter? An effective exposure of the folly of a practice that was almost universal! A fact in itself worth thinking about. We see the folly of the practice, yet it prevailed without any one suspecting its absurdity! Practical lesson: Things are not necessarily right because they are common. True of matters of faith and practice. Yet there is a general tendency to take it for granted that things that are common are right. A perception of the falsity of this assumption leads some men to an opposite error—the assumption that anything that is ancient is absurd. So pendulum-like is our tendency! But the first of these errors, because it is most prevalent, is most distinctly condemned in Scripture. The special aim of Scripture is the cultivation of individuality. It teaches that God is to be worshipped with the understanding (Psa_47:7; Mar_12:33; 1Co_14:15). It commands and commends individual search after truth (Joh_5:39; Act_17:11). It warns us against idly conforming to common practices (Exo_23:2). To this aim of Scripture let us respond. Let us have the wisdom and the courage to think and act for ourselves. This is the secret of the origin of the reforms the world needed so much; the absurdity and wickedness of idolatry, witchcraft, Popery, slavery, &c., first dawned upon individual thinkers, who risked their lives in exposing the delusion to others. Thus only can the reforms the world still needs be accomplished. In the very nature of the case, the cultivation of individuality is a duty that devolves on you and me. Let us give heed to it. This an important lesson from the general purpose of our text. Note also—
I. THINGS EXEMPLARY IN THESE IDOL-MAKERS.
Like our Lord, we should be observant of things that are excellent in men whose general character and course is wrong (Luk_16:8). The idol-makers were not content merely to believe; they carried out their belief into practice. They believed that they ought to worship idols, and they made and worshipped them. So it is with idolaters to-day. How poorly we should come out, if we were put to this test. We believe many right things: that God should be worshipped, that the Sabbath should be kept holy, &c., but how about our practice? (Jas_1:22.)
2. They did not hesitate to make the sacrifices necessary to accomplish the object they deemed desirable. Many of the idols were exceedingly costly (Isa_40:19). The poorest stinted themselves that they might at least procure for themselves idols of carved wood (Isa_40:20). Before the idols they offered costly sacrifices, some of them even their children. What terrible sacrifices idolaters often make now! But we, how little we are prepared to sacrifice, in order to do what is right, and to extend the kingdom of God in the world!
II. THINGS ADMONITORY IN THESE IDOL-MAKERS.
When we look upon them thoughtfully, we learn—
1. That intellectual ability is not sufficient to save men from the grossest spiritual follies. The idolaters were not all idiots. Many of them were great statesmen, soldiers, &c. Yet they were guilty of the gross folly of idolatry. Intellect is a great gift, but there are many things for which it is insufficient. Spiritual things can be only spiritually discerned (1Co_1:21; 1Co_2:14).
2. That neglect of the duty of thinking leads men into most foolish beliefs and injurious practices (Isa_44:19. See also Isa_1:3, and outlines on that text in vol. i. pp. 7–12).
The great lesson of this text: the duty of diligent and earnest self-examination. Let us look into our right hand, and see what it is that we are cherishing there (Isa_44:20; H. E I. 4433, 4434).
THE DECEIVED HEART
Isa_44:20. He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart, &c.
The moral government of God in this world is carried on by agencies that, generally speaking, seem to us most perfectly appropriate to the accomplishment of His designs. But He sometimes chooses means that appear unlikely to bring about what He intends to effect. Such was the method He adopted to cure the Jews of their idolatry. They were addicted to it for many generations. He caused them to be carried away captive to a country in which this degradation was practised universally! Yet it was there they became totally changed in this respect. Considered in itself, there was nothing in their captivity in an idolatrous country to secure this end; indeed it rather had a contrary tendency. But it was the grace of God working with their affliction that rendered it productive of this unexpected result. The warnings and instructions of the prophets accompanied the affliction, and the blessing of God rested on both; while they looked on the idolatrous practices, God’s messengers pointed out their absurdity, degradation, and danger. This chapter was designed for this purpose. But while our text refers to the folly of the idolater, it admits of easy and legitimate application to all the fallen children of Adam who are in their unrenewed state. They are turned aside by a deceived heart; they are feeding on ashes; they cannot deliver their souls, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
I. THE NATURE OF THAT DECEPTION BY WHICH AN UNCONVERTED PERSON IS INFLUENCED. “A deceived heart hath turned him aside.” The deception is therefore—
1. Fundamental in its character. It has its seat in the very centre of his being. It perniciously affects his governing principles. Principles determine action. True, bad men will sometimes, through the operation of outward causes, act contrary to their secret inclinations; and a good man, overborne by temptation, may act contrary to his settled principles (Rom_7:18-19). Peter denied his Master at the very time when his principles, if carried out, would have led him to come forward in His defence. But deception of the heart consists not merely in having the principles overruled by the force of temptation, but in the principles themselves being wrong. In this case, the very springs of a man’s action are out of place, and consequently wrong must be the rule by which he walks and the judgment which he forms. When the fountain is corrupt, all the streams that issue from it will be corrupt. When the heart is in error, all that depends upon its unaided decisions must be erroneous (Pro_4:23; H. E. I. 2689–2693).
2. It is powerful in the influence which it exerts. Whether a man will walk in the paths of virtue or of vice, depends entirely on the state of his heart, for in all cases it is true that “as he thinketh in his heart so is he.” His conduct will sooner or later be of the character to which that inclines. Such is the influence of the heart over the inferior faculties that, whatever resistance they may set up at first, it will be but feeble and temporary. There are instances on record—even in regard to good men, as David in the matter of Uriah, and Peter in denying Christ—in which the inferior faculties, not being fully subject to the heart, have, like a factious colony, revolted; but the heart, being right and strong, has exerted its sovereign power, and they have been again reduced to subjection, order, and obedience. On the other hand, in hypocrites and persons partially awakened, the inferior powers have been wrought upon to a great extent; but the heart not being changed, they have soon drawn back to its government and control. The intellect is curiously affected by the heart. How much the heart has to do with the opinions we hold! With what ease a person is brought to believe that to which he is inclined! (P. D. 119, 2382, 3057). How apt the judgment is to protest against that to which the heart is opposed! Such was the powerful influence by which the Jews, in the days of the Prophet, were retained in their idolatrous practices. It was seen to be equally efficacious in the days of our Lord. The corrupt hearts of the Pharisees were averse to His claims, and their aversion influenced their wills to reject and destroy Him; if at any time they found conviction stealing over them, it was met within by a powerful check. They saw, and yet they hated, both our Lord and His Father.
3. The existence of this deception is usually unsuspected, because it is so natural and easy in its mode of operation. Amongst all the reasons assigned for indifference about the state of the soul in the sight of God, this is not the least frequently assigned, that the mind is now at ease. Most persons think that nothing but fanatical zeal can make a man anxiously concerned for himself, or induce him deliberately to awaken suspicion in the reposing souls of others. But there is a quietness which deserves to be dreaded more than the greatest distress that can be experienced. It is the quietness of spiritual death—a false peace arising from the spiritual ignorance of its possessors, or the delusion of others by whom they are led (Jer_6:14; H. E. I. 1327–1333). Though conversions are not all after one pattern, yet there are few whose present spiritual comfort, if it be worth anything, has not been preceded by a severe spiritual conflict.
What is required of every one who would avoid the delusion specified in our text? It is that he should act with regard to the momentous concerns of the soul as he does in reference to the interests of the present life. When a man is about to purchase an estate, he most carefully examines the title to it that is offered him. But how seldom are the Scriptures searched for the express purpose of bringing the heart to that test! But consider—
II. THE PROOFS OF THIS DECEPTION WHICH ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE SINNER’S LIFE AND CONDUCT. “He feedeth on ashes.” A deceived heart is known—
1. By the vitiated taste which characterises its possessor—by the utter insufficiency and impropriety of those things by which he, as an immortal being, seeks to satisfy the desires of his spiritual nature; just as, when we see a person craving after that which cannot be of any benefit to him, we conclude at once that there is a diseased condition of body, or a perverted state of mind. Only in God can there be found the satisfaction for the soul’s craving after happiness (H. E. I. 2379–2387, 4627–4630). But instead of looking to Him, the man of deceived heart endeavours to supply His place with inefficient substitutes—the things of this world. “He feedeth on ashes,” sensual enjoyments, schemes of worldly pleasure, delusive hopes (P. D. 1680).
2. By the injurious tendencies of the man’s practices. He who “feedeth on ashes” not only debars himself of what is good, but also inflicts upon his constitution a positive evil, by rendering himself incapable of relishing necessary future good when he may feel disposed for its enjoyment. As true of the soul as of the body! The longer repentance is delayed the more difficult it becomes; the longer vice reigns in the heart, the more arduous and painful is the work of its expulsion. [1417] “Feeding on ashes” must also affect the future. That there are degrees of glory we are clearly taught in the Scriptures; but by what rule are they regulated except by the measure of grace received and cultivated here? (P. D. 412, 1752).
[1417] To which of the saints can we turn who did not enlist under the banner of the Cross until late in life, and after a terrible course of error and profanity, who does not find, to his deep regret, that in the time of his former ignorance he was not only keeping himself from the proper nourishment of his soul, but also that the ashes on which he then fed have left behind injurious consequences, which now prevent him from enjoying so much as he otherwise would of the excellency of Christ and His Gospel? When the memory has been previously stored, and perhaps at a very early period of life, with the pernicious productions of a licentious press, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to forget them, and supply their place with better things. When the affections have been firmly set on the vanities of time and sense, and through a long period have exercised their strength upon a certain set of objects, it will be extremely difficult to prevent the intrusion of those objects; and that, too, when they ought especially to be annihilated. Many and painful will be the struggles between these and better things for the throne of the heart.—Slye.
3. It is seen in that contentment and satisfaction the man appears to possess. “He feedeth on ashes.” He does not take them as a medicine that has been prescribed for him; he sits down to them as a meal, as a matter of habit and choice! How pitiable!
III. THE DIREFUL EFFECTS OF THIS PRACTICE ON THE SINNER. “He cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” If the body be diseased in some of its inferior or less essential parts, the vital organs being healthy and the constitution good, it may recover itself, and again perform its wonted actions; but if the seat of life be affected, there is no hope of recovery but by a miracle, or that which nearly approaches to it. It is just so with a deceived heart. Sin has untuned the instrument, and though it has still left the strings, they have no power to rectify themselves. In a dead body there are all the properties for action, and there may be some of the animal warmth, while there is no animation, but the lifeless mass cannot recover itself. No more can the man who has long fed upon “ashes.” The very desire, as well as the ability, to rise to a nobler life passes away from him (H. E. I. 1527).—James Slye: Home Exercises, pp. 33–66.
Mistaken notions of image-worship may lead us to regard it with an air of scorn, as too silly and infatuated ever to find a place in Christianised communities; but let us not be deceived; the pagan does not bow down to the mere material of which his god is formed; he believes it to be fraught with a divine power and intelligence, that in it or in his act of worship there resides a secret virtue; and whenever the symbol in Christian worship is believed to have in itself an efficacious virtue, whenever religious acts as such, religious ceremonies or places of worship, are supposed to be possessed of a peculiar sacredness and saving efficacy, we have only a refined species of image-worship. But if not images, we have our idols in abundance. The gods of our day may not have an outward embodiment, but not the less loyal are their votaries to them. Men are prone to make idols of mammon and worldly desires and selfish ambitions. Human nature is substantially the same in all ages. The follies of bygone times are continually being reproduced, and instead of exciting our ridicule, they should call us to examine our own conduct.
The text concludes the Prophet’s scathing exposure of the folly of idol-manufacture and idol-worship, which he traces up to “a deceived heart.” “So wrapped up is he in his delusion that he never thinks of examining the grounds of his hope.” May not this explain every false confidence, and every sinful course? As the long practice of idolatry blinds the idolater to its folly, so every sin and superstitious trust has a blinding effect. The lie in the hand becomes a lie in the heart, and the lie in the heart keeps the lie in the hand. Practice and belief have a reciprocal influence. Self-deception is at once the fruit and the seed of sin (H. E. I. 4538). Sin works spiritual blindness, so that the sinner is like a ship in a fog, or a traveller in a deep ravine who knows not his direction on account of the overhanging cliffs and dense foliage (Mat_6:23); nay, he is worse, for not only is he unable to review his conduct and test his principles, he is indisposed to do so, and it never even suggests itself to him that he is possibly on a wrong track. Look at some of the causes and forms of self-delusion in regard to a sinful life and a foolish confidence, both of which are denoted by “the hand,” as that which acts and that which grasps:—
1. Ignorance of self and neglect of self-scrutiny. Men busy themselves in exploring the expanse of the sky, and ranging the bodies of the universe, while they neglect to scrutinise their own hearts. They recoil from self-examination because it is painful. “O grievous strait!” cries one; “if I look into myself I cannot endure myself; if I see not myself I am deceived, and death is unavoidable.” Surely it is better to open the wound than to let it mortify. If only the sinner would pause and reflect, he might discover the lie to which he is clinging and the deception that lurks in his heart (Psa_139:23-24).
2. The false religions of the world. Even the heathen have a sense of guilt and a fear of retribution, and when they ask, “How can we obtain pardon and peace?” their own hearts cannot tell, nature gives no response; but the superstitions of the world come to their aid with soothing opiates for a guilty conscience. They are taught to propitiate the gods by bloody rites. So strong is the sense of guilt that the deluded Hindoo practises upon himself every form of torture, prostrating himself before the wheels of the car of Juggernaut. The Mohammedan is very scrupulous in his fasts and prayers, or undertakes a toilsome journey to the tomb of the false prophet, hoping thus to expiate his guilt and obtain a passport to paradise. The Romanist confesses his sin into the ear of a priest, and implores the aid of the Virgin and the saints. The indulgences which he can purchase are paper falsehoods, but so deluded is he that he does not ask, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” In these ways the false religions of the world encourage their votaries in sin and self-deception. All of them are offshoots and creations of depraved human nature (Deu_29:19).
3. The practice of giving soft and soothing names to sin to disguise its real nature. The lie in the hand is concealed by the lie in the heart, when plausible names are given to dishonourable actions. A man who ruins himself by some degrading vice is said to be “a good-hearted fellow, who harms no one but himself;” a shameful sin is but “a misfortune.” Thus are men led into the belief that there is no such thing as sin at all. They hide their eyes from its sinfulness, and live in the practice of it, because they think lightly of it.
4. The excuses of our own evil hearts (Jer_17:9). In ancient times men ascribed their moral delinquencies to the influence of the stars under which they were born, casting their guilt upon the circumstances of their birth, and imagining that they were under a fatal influence which compelled them to sin (Jer_7:10). Many still believe themselves to be the slaves of inflexible fate, and are bold enough to charge their Maker with their guilt, like Burns, who wrote—
“Thou knowest that Thou hast formed me
With passions wild and strong;
And listening to their witching voice
Has often led me wrong.”
They declare themselves to be the victims of circumstance, unable to help themselves (Gen_3:12; Jas_1:13).
CONCLUSION.—
1. The degradation and disappointment of the self-deceived. “He feedeth on ashes,” which cannot nourish nor satisfy (Deu_32:32; Luk_15:16). No solid comfort nor abiding peace is found in the lies to which the natural heart has recourse. Foolish man is like the ostrich that tries to elude the pursuit of the hunters by hiding its head in the sand. Lies in heart and life shall have lies for their reward—ashes instead of food. In Doddridge’s well-known hymn, “O Happy Day,” there is a reference to our text, which in some collections has been tampered with. The verse runs—
“Now rest, my long-divided heart;
Fixed on this blissful centre, rest:
With ashes who would grudge to part,
When called on angels’ bread to feast!”
2. The helplessness of the self-deluded. “He cannot deliver his soul” by detecting the delusions in which he is ensnared. Nothing short of Divine power and heavenly light can break the spell under which he lies (Joh_16:8-11; Eph_5:13-14).—William Guthrie, M.A.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v9 The Vanity of Idolatry over against Jehovah
The Vanity of Idolatry over against Jehovah
v. 9. They that make a graven image, those who manufacture idols, are all of them vanity, nothingness, desolation; and their delectable things, the idols for which they profess such a deep affection, shall not profit, not being able to help them in any way; and they are their own witnesses; they see not nor know, the idol-worshipers themselves testifying that their gods are both blind and ignorant, that they, the idolaters, may be ashamed, for their attitude condemns them.
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v. 10. Who hath formed a god or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? The answer which is implied would clearly state: No one while he is in his right mind.
v. 11. Behold, all his fellows, the entire guild of idol-makers, shall be ashamed, and the workmen, those who direct the work, they are of men, themselves creatures and therefore unable to make a real god. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up, to make an issue of their claim to recognition before the true God; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together, the hollowness and emptiness of their doing will be exposed before all witnesses. This is followed by a concrete, detailed description of idol-manufacture as practiced in those days, full of the keenest ironical allusions.
v. 12. The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals and fashioneth it with hammers, rather, in the impersonal form of the original, "One fashioneth iron with the cold-chisel, and causeth it to glow in coals, and with hammers formeth it," and worketh it with the strength of his arms; yea, he is hungry, and his strength falleth; he drinketh no water and is faint. He is so busily engaged that he neglects even eating and drinking, until he becomes utterly exhausted. A similar energy is shown in the case of wooden idols.
v. 13. The carpenter stretcheth out his rule, again impersonal, "One felleth trees, draweth his line," in order to cut a piece of wood of the required size; he marketh it out with a line, he fitteth it with planes, marking off the figure with a stylus, and he marketh it out with the compass, so that the outside wood may be removed exactly, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, for the idols were given the most handsome appearance, in many instances, that it may remain in the house, be enclosed permanently in a small place, whereas the true God does not live in houses made by men.
v. 14. He heweth him down cedars and taketh the cypress and the oat, rather, "In order to have the finest wood, he chooseth the helm-oak and the common oak," both of them distinguished for the excellence of their wood, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest, carefully nurturing such a tree among the giants of the forest; he planteth an ash, a fir or cedar, and the rain doth nourish it, so that, in the course of years, it reaches its proper size, the description of the long wait tending to show the ridiculous aspect of the idolater’s activity.
v. 15. Then shall it be for a man to burn, that is, ordinarily such a tree will yield fuel; for he will take thereof and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god and worshipeth it; as he does the one thing, so he does the other, not realizing how utterly foolish the latter act is in comparison with the former; he maketh it a graven image and falleth down thereto, in the usual act of adoration. The contrast is brought out still more emphatically in the next sentences.
v. 16. He burneth part thereof in the fire, for fuel to keep him warm; with part thereof he eateth flesh, using it for cooking; he roasteth roast and is satisfied, feeling perfectly content; yea, he warmeth himself and saith, Aha! an exclamation expressing the height of comfort, I am warm, I have seen the fire, felt its pleasant effect;
v. 17. and the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image, what he calls his god; he falleth down unto it, and worshipeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god, this prayer being the very climax of foolish behavior, which, however, the idoiaters do not realize.
v. 18. They have not known nor understood, they do not realize the inconsistency of their conduct; for He hath shut their eyes, rather, their eyes are daubed shut, that they cannot see, and their hearts that they cannot understand, that they do not learn true wisdom. Cf Rom 1:18-21.
v. 19. And none considereth in his heart, so much as thinks over his act, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, in reflecting upon his own conduct, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also, I have baked bread upon the coals thereof, upon the glowing bed of coals; I have roasted flesh and eaten it, and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? to the figure which the tree yielded, the idol which it, in a manner of speaking, produces. The idolaters become utterly callous to the rank inconsistency of their behavior, to the unreasonableness of their worship.
v. 20. He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside, or, more emphatically, "He who watcheth over ashes—a foolish heart has led him astray," that he cannot deliver his soul, his idolatry leads him into eternal damnation, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Spiritual blindness is always, in the first instance, self-inflicted; he that persists in it is eternally lost. On the other hand, the believers, the children of God, the true members of the spiritual Israel, are in happy possession of their deliverance, of the forgiveness of their sins.
v. 21. Remember these, namely, what the Lord is about to say, O Jacob and Israel, His people, for thou art My servant, not a foolish idol-manufacturer; I have formed thee, thou art My servant, by virtue of his having been chosen by Jehovah. O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of Me, the admonition, Forget Me not! coming with emphasis at the end of this sentence.
v. 22. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, so that they are completely erased, thy transgressions, even such as meant a severing of the covenant relations, and, as a cloud, thy sins, that is, in the same way as the sun dissolves and drives away the darkness of a heavy cloud. Return unto Me, for I have redeemed thee; with him, in his redemption, is life and salvation. This promise causes the prophet to address a rousing admonition to the entire creation.
v. 23. Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it, the deliverance has been gained; shout, ye lower parts of the earth, everything beneath the skies; break forth into singing, ye mountains, as the most prominent parts of the landscape, O forest and every tree therein; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob and glorified Himself in Israel, wherefore all the creatures of the universe should sing praises to this miracle of His redemption. To the believing heart there is no limit to the songs of praise and adoration arising to the throne of grace.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 11, 12 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues speaking.
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the things they delight in are worthless
"the idols they delight in are worthless"
their witnesses cannot see or know anything
This phrase refers to those who worship these idols and who claim to be witnesses of the idols' power. Yahweh speaks of their inability to understand the truth as if they were blind. AT: "those who serve as witnesses for these idols are like blind people who know nothing" (See: Metaphor)
they will be put to shame
This can be stated in active form. AT: "they will be ashamed" or "their idols will put them to shame" (See: Active or Passive)
Who would form a god or cast an idol that is worthless?
Yahweh is using this question to rebuke those who make idols. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Only fools would form a god or cast an idol that is worthless." (See: Rhetorical Question)
cast an idol that is worthless
The word "worthless" does not distinguish worthless idols from idols that have worth, because all idols are worthless. AT: "cast worthless idols" (See: Distinguishing versus Informing or Reminding)
translationWords
false god
testimony
shame
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.