Isaiah 44:9

Isaiah 44:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.
• English Standard Version (ESV)All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Those who make an image, all of them are useless, And their precious things shall not profit; They are their own witnesses; They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.

Context of Isaiah 44:9

7Who then is like Me? Let him say so! Let him declare his case before Me, since I established an ancient people. Let him foretell the things to come, and what is to take place. 8Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.” All 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. 10Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing? 11Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are only human. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will all be brought to terror and shame.

Isaiah 44:9 word by word

יֹֽצְרֵי־פֶ֤סֶל כֻּלָּם֙ תֹּ֔הוּ וַחֲמוּדֵיהֶ֖ם בַּל־יוֹעִ֑ילוּ וְעֵדֵיהֶ֣ם הֵׄ֗מָּׄהׄ בַּל־יִרְא֛וּ וּבַל־יֵדְע֖וּ לְמַ֥עַן יֵבֹֽשׁוּ׃Read the interlinear

• Allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• makersיָצַרyâtsar · to form: formedH3335
• of idolsפֶּ֫סֶלpesel · idolH6459
• are nothingתֹּ֫הוּtôhû · formlessnessH8414
• and the things they treasureחָמַדchâmad · to desireH2530
• are worthlessבַּלbal · notH1077
• are worthlessיָעַלya‛al · to gainH3276
• Their witnessesעֵד‛êd · witnessH5707
• Their witnessesהֵ֫מָּהhêm hêmmâh · they(masc.)H1992
• seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• or comprehendיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• soמַ֫עַןma‛an · becauseH4616
• they are put to shameבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954

Cross-references for Isaiah 44:9

• Isaiah 41:24Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
• 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!’
• Psalms 97:7All worshipers of images are put to shame— those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!
• Jeremiah 10:3For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman.
• Isaiah 2:20In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold— the idols they made to worship.
• Isaiah 37:18Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands.
• Isaiah 46:1Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
• Judges 10:14Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”
• 1 Kings 18:26And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
• 1 Kings 2:11The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
• 1 Kings 14:22And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done.
• 1 Kings 16:19because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD and following the example of Jeroboam and the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.
• Daniel 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.
• 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.
• Habakkuk 2:18What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it— or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
• 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.

Commentaries on Isaiah 44:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9That 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 Isaiah 44:9; with the beginning of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9They 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 Isaiah 40:18-20 (see the notes at that…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-20Verses 9-20 Image-making is described, to expose the folly of idolaters. Though a man had used part of a log for fuel, he fell down before an image made of the remainder, praying it to deliver him. Man greatly dishonours God, when he represents him after the image of man. Satan blinds the eyes of unbelievers, causing absurd reasonings in matters of religion. Whether men seek happiness in worldly things, or run into unbelief, superstition, or any false…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-20This passage uses the form of a trial speech to press God’s argument that disgrace comes to all who trust in idols and false gods.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. (Is 40:18, 20; 41:29). delectable things--the idols in which they take such pride and delight. not profit--(Ha 2:18). they are their own witnesses--contrasted with, "Ye are My witnesses" (Is 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…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 44:9

• Carving
• Idol
• Idolatry
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• Graven image
• Consider
• Fit
• Pleasure
• Surname
• Ashamed
• Delectable
• God
• Habakkuk
• Idolatry

Commentaries on Isaiah 44

• 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