They have ears, but they can’t hear, neither is there any breath in their mouths.
Parallel Translations
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They have ears, but they can’t hear, neither is there any breath in their mouths.
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They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.
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They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.
Cross-references
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Explain this verse (4 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 135:17 They have ears, but they hear not;…
Psa 135:17 They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there [any] breath in their mouths.
Ver. 17. Neither is there any breath in their mouths] If they utter oracles, it was the devil in them, and by them. As for those statues of Daedalus which are said to have moved, spoken, and run away if they were not tied to a place, &c., it is either a fiction, or else to be attributed to causes external and artificial, as quicksilver, &c. (Aristot.; Diod.; Sic.; Plato).
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.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain They that make them are like unto them,.... Are…
They that make them are like unto them,.... Are as blind, stupid, and senseless as they; or "let them that make them", &c. (q); so some versions and interpreters; See Gill on Psa 115:8;
so is everyone that trusteth in them; alike ignorant and sottish: and so are all such that set up idols and lusts in their own hearts, and serve them; or trust to their own righteousness; even all unregenerate and self-righteous persons: they cannot speak a word for God and his grace, for Christ and his righteousness, for the Spirit of God, and his work upon their hearts, of all which they are ignorant; they are blind and have no sight and sense of their sin and misery, and of their need of Christ and his righteousness; they are deaf to his Gospel, and the charming voice of it; they are lifeless and breathless, are dead in trespasses and sins, and have no pantings and desires after spiritual things.
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(q) So V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Sept. Syr. Arab. Ethiop.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 17. To this verse one of Kennicott's MSS.…
Verse 17. To this verse one of Kennicott's MSS. adds the 6th and 7th verses of Psalm cxv. Ps 115:6-7
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 17. They have ears, and very large ones,…
Ver. 17. They have ears, and very large ones, too, if we remember certain of the Hindu idols. But they hear not. Useless are their ears; in fact, they are mere counterfeits and deceits. Ears which men make are always deaf: the secret of hearing is wrapped up with the mystery of life, and both are in the unsearchable mind of the Lord. It seems that these heathen gods are dumb, and blind, and deafa pretty bundle of infirmities to be found in a deity! Neither is there any breath in their mouths; they are dead, no sign of life is perceptible; and breathing, which is of the essence of animal life, they never knew. Shall a man waste his breath in crying to an idol which has no breath? Shall life offer up petitions to death? Verily, this is a turning of things upside down.
Psalms 135:18*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.