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

7Is there anyone like me? If there is, he should say so! He must tell me why he thinks he is so great. Long ago I made my people become a nation. Let him say what he has done since then! Let him tell us what will happen in future years! 8My people, do not shake with fear. Long ago I told you about things that would happen. You can tell people the truth about me. You know that I am the only true God. There is no other Rock to keep you safe. There surely is no other God except me.’ All the people who make idols are fools. The images which make them so happy are useless. Those who worship idols cannot see the truth. They do not understand what they are doing, and they will be ashamed. 10Only a fool makes an idol and thinks that it is his god. An image cannot help him. 11Those who work with him will all be ashamed. Those workers with special skills are only human. They should come together, and they should stand in front of me. That will make them very frightened. They will realize how foolish they are!

Isaiah 44:9 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• They that makeיָצַרyâtsar · to form: formedH3335
• a graven imageפֶּ֫סֶלpesel · idolH6459
• all of them vanityתֹּ֫הוּtôhû · formlessnessH8414
• and their delectable thingsחָמַדchâmad · to desireH2530
• shall not profitיָעַלya‛al · to gainH3276
• their own witnessesעֵד‛êd · witnessH5707
• they seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• not, nor knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• that they may be ashamedבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954

Cross-references for Isaiah 44:9

• Isaiah 41:24But no! Your idols are useless. There is nothing that they can do. Anybody who chooses to worship them has turned against God!
• Deuteronomy 27:15‘God will curse anyone who makes any image of a god and who worships it secretly. The Lord hates all idols that people make with metal or with wood.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Yes, we agree!’
• Psalms 97:7Everyone who worships idols should be ashamed. They should not boast about useless idols! All gods like that will fall down in front of the Lord.
• Jeremiah 10:3The customs of those people are useless. They cut down a tree in the forest. A worker uses his tools to make it into an idol.
• Isaiah 2:20At that time, people will throw away their silver idols and their gold idols. They made those idols so that they could worship them. But now they will throw them into caves where rats and bats live.
• Isaiah 37:18It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these people and their lands.
• Isaiah 46:1Bel bends down to the ground. Nebo lies down low. Their images are heavy loads on the backs of animals. The animals become tired and weak as they carry them away.
• Judges 10:14Go and ask those other gods to help you! They are the gods that you have chosen, so let them rescue you from your trouble!’
• 1 Kings 18:26So Baal's prophets took a bull as Elijah had told them. They prepared it and they put it on the altar that they had made. Then they prayed to Baal all the time, from morning until noon. They shouted, ‘Baal, answer us!’ But there was no voice that answered them. They jumped and they danced around the altar.
• 1 Kings 2:11David had ruled Israel as king for 40 years. He ruled for seven years in Hebron. Then he ruled for 33 years in Jerusalem.
• 1 Kings 14:22The people of Judah did things that the Lord said were evil. Their sins caused the Lord to be very angry. They did worse things than their ancestors had done.
• 1 Kings 16:19This happened because of the sins that he had done. He did things that the Lord says are evil. He did the same bad things that Jeroboam had done. He also caused the Israelites to continue doing bad things.
• Daniel 5:23You thought that you were greater than the Lord of heaven. So you told your servants to bring the valuable cups that belong to God's temple. You yourself, your wives, your other women and your important friends drank wine from those cups. You praised your gods that were made from silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone. Those are idols that cannot see or hear. They cannot understand anything. But you worshipped them instead of the true God. He is the God who gives life to you. He has power over everything that you do.
• Hosea 8:4My people chose kings to rule them, but they did not ask me about it. They chose people to lead them, but I did not agree. They used their silver and their gold to make idols for themselves. But that will destroy them in the end.
• Habakkuk 2:18What value does an idol have? What help can it give? Somebody has made it as the image of a false god. It can only tell false messages. Why should its maker trust it for help? He has used wood or metal to make it and it cannot speak!
• 1 Corinthians 8:4So think about food that people have offered to idols. You ask, ‘Should Christians eat that food?’ We know that no idol is really alive. We also know that there is only one God.

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