Berean Standard Bible
Isaiah 17:8
8They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers.
Isaiah 17:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
- New International Version (NIV)They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles and the incense altars their fingers have made.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.
Context of Isaiah 17:8
6Yet gleanings will remain, like an olive tree that has been beaten— two or three berries atop the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches,” declares the LORD, the God of Israel. 7In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers. 9In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation. 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—
Read all of Isaiah 17Isaiah 17:8 word by word
וְלֹ֣א יִשְׁעֶ֔ה אֶל־הַֽמִּזְבְּח֖וֹת מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָדָ֑יו וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשׂ֤וּ אֶצְבְּעֹתָיו֙ לֹ֣א יִרְאֶ֔ה וְהָאֲשֵׁרִ֖ים וְהָחַמָּנִֽים׃Read the interlinear
- They will notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- lookשָׁעָהshâ‛âh · to gazeH8159
- toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
- the altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
- they have fashionedמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
- with their handsיָדyâd · handH3027
- ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- or to the Asherahsאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
- and incense altarsחַמָּןchammân · pillarH2553
- they have madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- with their fingersאֶצְבַּע'etsba‛ · fingerH676
- with their fingersרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
Cross-references for Isaiah 17:8
- Isaiah 1:29Surely you will be ashamed of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be embarrassed by the gardens that you have chosen.
- Isaiah 2:18and the idols will vanish completely.
- Isaiah 27:9Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
- Isaiah 30:22So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”
- 2 Chronicles 34:6Josiah did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them.
- Ezekiel 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Hosea 14:8O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.
- Zephaniah 1:3“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
- Zechariah 13:2And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.
- Isaiah 2:8Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
- Isaiah 31:6Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel.
- Isaiah 44:15It serves as fuel for man. He takes some of it to warm himself, and he kindles a fire and bakes his bread. He also fashions it into a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
- Hosea 8:4They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction.
- Hosea 10:1Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better he made the sacred pillars.
- Hosea 13:1When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel. But he incurred guilt through Baal, and he died.
- Micah 5:13I will also cut off the carved images and sacred pillars from among you, so that you will no longer bow down to the work of your own hands.
Commentaries on Isaiah 17:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8The altars, the work of his hands "The altars dedicated to the work of his hands" - The construction of the words, and the meaning of the sentence, in this place are not obvious; all the ancient Versions, and most of the modern, have mistaken it. The word מעשה maaseh, "the work," stands in regimine with מזבחות mizbechoth, "altars," not in opposition to it; it means the, altars of the work of their hand; that is of the idols, which are the work of their…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8And he shall not look to the altars - That is, the altars of the gods which the Syrians worshipped, and the altars of the false gods which had been erected in the land of Israel or Samaria by its wicked kings, and particularly by Ahaz. Ahaz fancied an altar which he saw at Damascus when on a visit to Tiglath-pileser, and ordered Urijah the priest to construct one like it in Samaria, on which he subsequently offered sacrifice 2 Kings 16:10-13. It is well…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Canaanites and then Israelites worshiped the fertility goddess Asherah in wooded areas or, in the absence of wooded areas, by using Asherah poles (see Isaiah 27:9; 65:3; Micah 5:14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. groves--A symbolical tree is often found in Assyrian inscriptions, representing the hosts of heaven ("Saba"), answering to Ashteroth or Astarte, the queen of heaven, as Baal or Bel is the king. Hence the expression, "image of the grove," is explained (2Ki 21:7). images--literally, "images to the sun," that is, to Baal, who answers to the sun, as Astarte to the hosts of heaven (2Ki 23:5; Job 31:26).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 17:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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