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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.

Context of Isaiah 44:9

7Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. 8Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any." 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. 10Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

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 41:24Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.
• Deuteronomy 27:15"'Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.' And all the people shall answer and say, 'Amen.'
• Psalms 97:7All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!
• Jeremiah 10:3for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
• Isaiah 2:20In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,
• Isaiah 37:18Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands,
• Isaiah 46:1Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts.
• Judges 10:14Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress."
• 1 Kings 18:26And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.
• 1 Kings 2:11And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
• 1 Kings 14:22And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.
• 1 Kings 16:19because of his sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for his sin which he committed, making Israel to sin.
• Daniel 5:23but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
• 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.
• Habakkuk 2:18"What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!
• 1 Corinthians 8:4Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," 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