Isaiah 41:24

Isaiah 41:24 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
• New International Version (NIV)But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; whoever chooses you is detestable.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Indeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination.

Context of Isaiah 41:24

22“Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming. 23Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay. Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable. 25I have raised up one from the north, and he has come— one from the east who calls on My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter who treads the clay. 26Who has declared this from the beginning, so that we may know, and from times past, so that we may say: ‘He was right’? No one announced it, no one foretold it, no one heard your words.

Isaiah 41:24 word by word

הֵן־אַתֶּ֣ם מֵאַ֔יִן וּפָעָלְכֶ֖ם מֵאָ֑פַע תּוֹעֵבָ֖ה יִבְחַ֥ר בָּכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

• Beholdהֵןhên · look!H2005
• youאַתֶּם'attâh 'attâ 'ath 'attîy 'attem 'atten 'attênâh 'attênnâh · you(m.p.)H859
• are nothingאַ֫יִן'ayin · nothingH369
• and your workפֹּ֫עַלpô‛al · workH6467
• is of no valueאֶ֫פַע'êpha‛ · worthlessH659
• Anyone who choosesבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• is detestableתּוֹעֵבַהtô‛êbah tô‛êbah · abominationH8441

Cross-references for Isaiah 41:24

• Isaiah 41:29See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.
• Isaiah 44:9All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
• Psalms 115:8Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.
• Jeremiah 10:8But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
• Jeremiah 51:17Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
• 1 Corinthians 8:4So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.
• Isaiah 66:24“As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a horror to all mankind.”
• Deuteronomy 7:26And you must not bring any detestable thing into your house, or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. You are to utterly detest and abhor it, because it is set apart for destruction.
• Deuteronomy 27:15‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
• Revelation 17:5And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Commentaries on Isaiah 41:24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24Your work of naught "Your operation is less than naught" - For מאפע meepha, read מאפס meephes ; so the Chaldee and Vulgate. A manifest error of the text; compare Isaiah 40:17. The rabbins acknowledge no such error, but say that the former word signifies the same with the latter, by a change of the two letters ס samech and ע ain . - Sal ben Melec in loc.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24Behold, ye are of nothing - Margin, Worse than nothing.‘ This refers to idols; and the idea is, that they were utterly vain and powerless; they were as unable to render aid to their worshippers as absolute nothingness would be, and all their confidence in them was vain and foolish. And your work - All that you do, or all that it is pretended that you do. Of nought - Margin, Worse than a viper.‘ The word used here in the common Hebrew text (אפע 'epa‛ )…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-29Verses 21-29 There needs no more to show the folly of sin, than to bring to notice the reasons given in defence of it. There is nothing in idols worthy of regard. They are less than nothing, and worse than nothing. Let the advocates of other doctrines than that of salvation through Christ, bring their arguments. Can they tell of a cure for human depravity? Jehovah has power which cannot be withstood; this he will make appear. But the certain knowledge of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-29This trial scene develops the Lord’s case against idolatry. Idols are nothing but a human creation, whereas God is the Creator of all things. Idols cannot speak, act, accomplish anything, or save their worshipers.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2424. of nothing--(See on Is 40:17). The Hebrew text is here corrupt; so English Version treats it. abomination--abstract for concrete: not merely abominable, but the essence of whatever is so (De 18:12). chooseth you--as an object of worship.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 41:24

• Condescension of God
• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• Produce
• Gods
• Isaiah
• Nothing
• Nought
• Omniscience
• Philosophy
• Divination

Commentaries on Isaiah 41

• 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