English Standard Version
Isaiah 17:8
8He 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)They will no longer look to their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or worship at the pagan shrines they have built.
Context of Isaiah 17:8
6Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the Lord God of Israel. 7In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 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. 9In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation. 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
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 1:29For they shall be ashamed of the oaks that you desired; and you shall blush for the gardens that you have chosen.
- Isaiah 2:18And the idols shall utterly pass away.
- Isaiah 27:9Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.
- Isaiah 30:22Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, "Be gone!"
- 2 Chronicles 34:6And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around,
- Ezekiel 36:25I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
- Hosea 14:8O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit.
- Zephaniah 1:3"I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, and the rubble with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth," declares the Lord.
- Zechariah 13:2"And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness.
- Isaiah 2:8Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made.
- Isaiah 31:6Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted, O children of Israel.
- Isaiah 44:15Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.
- Hosea 8:4They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.
- Hosea 10:1Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars.
- Hosea 13:1When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
- Micah 5:13and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to 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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Commentaries