Isaiah 44:9-20
New American Standard Bible
The Foolishness of Idolatry
9 Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be (A)put to shame. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to (B)no benefit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be (C)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.
12 The (D)craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, [a]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and [b]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 (E)The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of (F)mankind, so that it may sit in a (G)house. 14 He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also (H)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and (I)bows down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 Yet the rest of it he (J)makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also (K)prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
18 They do not (L)know, nor do they understand, for He has (M)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one [c]remembers, nor is there (N)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then [d]I make the rest of it into an (O)abomination, [e]I bow down before a block of wood!” 20 He [f](P)feeds on ashes; a (Q)deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save [g]himself, nor say, “(R)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 44:12 Lit and fashions
- Isaiah 44:12 Lit there is no strength
- Isaiah 44:19 Lit returns to his heart
- Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I make?
- Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I bow...?
- Isaiah 44:20 Or is a companion of ashes
- Isaiah 44:20 Lit his soul
Isaiah 46:5-9
New American Standard Bible
5 “(A)To whom would you liken Me
And make Me equal, and compare Me,
That we would be alike?
6 Those who (B)lavish gold from the bag
And weigh silver on the scale,
Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
They (C)bow down, indeed they worship it.
7 They (D)lift it on the shoulder, carry it,
And set it in its place, and it stands there.
(E)It does not move from its place.
Though one may shout to it, it (F)cannot answer;
It (G)cannot save him from his distress.
8 “(H)Remember this, and be [a]assured;
(I)Recall it to [b]mind, you (J)wrongdoers.
9 Remember the (K)former things long past,
For I am God, and there is (L)no other;
I am God, and there is (M)no one like Me,
Footnotes
- Isaiah 46:8 Lit firm
- Isaiah 46:8 Lit heart
John 4:24
New American Standard Bible
24 God is [a]spirit, and those who worship Him must worship (A)in spirit and truth.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 4:24 Or Spirit
Acts 17:29
New American Standard Bible
29 Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we (A)ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.