Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 17:8
8They will not look to the altars they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and shrines they 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
6Only gleanings will be left in Israel, as if an olive tree had been beaten — two or three olives at the very top of the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches. This is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Israel. 7On that day people will look to their Maker and will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. They will not look to the altars they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and shrines they made with their fingers. 9On that day their strong cities will be like the abandoned woods and mountaintops that were abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation. 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and you have failed to remember the rock of your strength; therefore you will plant beautiful plants 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he shall not lookשָׁעָהshâ‛âh · to gazeH8159
- to the altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
- the workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
- of his handsיָדyâd · handH3027
- neither shall respectרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- which his fingersאֶצְבַּע'etsba‛ · fingerH676
- have madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- either the grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
- or the imagesחַמָּןchammân · pillarH2553
Cross-references for Isaiah 17:8
- Isaiah 1:29Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred trees you desired, and you will be embarrassed because of the garden shrines you have chosen.
- Isaiah 2:18The worthless idols will vanish completely.
- Isaiah 27:9Therefore Jacob’s iniquity will be atoned for in this way, and the result 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 30:22Then you will defile your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, and call them filth.
- 2 Chronicles 34:6He did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali and on their surrounding mountain shrines.
- 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 14:8Ephraim, why should I have anything more to do with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing pine tree; your fruit comes from me.
- Zephaniah 1:3I will sweep away people and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the ruins along with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth. This is the Lord’s declaration.
- Zechariah 13:2On that day” — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies — “I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will banish the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
- Isaiah 2:8Their land is full of worthless idols; they worship the work of their hands, what their fingers have made.
- Isaiah 31:6Return to the one the Israelites have greatly rebelled against.
- Isaiah 44:15A person can use it for fuel. He takes some of it and warms himself; also he kindles a fire and bakes bread; he even makes it into a god and worships it; he makes an idol from it and bows down to it.
- Hosea 8:4They have installed kings, but not through me. They have appointed leaders, but without my approval. They make their silver and gold into idols for themselves for their own destruction.
- Hosea 10:1Israel is a lush vine; it yields fruit for itself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better they made the sacred pillars.
- Hosea 13:1When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel. But he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
- Micah 5:13I will remove your carved images and sacred pillars from you so that you will no longer worship the work of your 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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