God’s Word Translation
Psalms 115:4
4Their idols are made of silver and gold. They were made by human hands.
Psalms 115:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
- New International Version (NIV)But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands.
Context of Psalms 115:4
2Why should other nations say, “Where is their God?” 3Our God is in heaven. He does whatever he wants. Their idols are made of silver and gold. They were made by human hands. 5They have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see. 6They have ears, but they cannot hear. They have noses, but they cannot smell.
Read all of Psalms 115Psalms 115:4 word by word
עֲֽ֭צַבֵּיהֶם כֶּ֣סֶף וְזָהָ֑ב מַ֝עֲשֵׂ֗ה יְדֵ֣י אָדָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 115:4
- Psalms 97:7Everyone who worships idols and brags about false gods will be put to shame. All the gods will bow to him.
- Psalms 135:15The idols of the nations are made of silver and gold. They were made by human hands.
- Deuteronomy 4:28There you will worship wooden and stone gods made by human hands. These gods can’t see, hear, eat, or smell.
- Isaiah 40:19Craftsmen make idols. Goldsmiths cover them with gold. Silversmiths make silver chains for them.
- Isaiah 42:17Then those who trust idols and those who say to statues, “You are our gods” will be turned away and put to shame.
- Isaiah 46:1The god Bel bows down; the god Nebo stoops low. Their statues are seated on animals and cattle. The gods that you carry are burdens, a load for weary people.
- Jeremiah 10:3The religion of the people is worthless. Woodcutters cut down trees from the forest. The hands of craftsmen prepare them with axes.
- Hosea 8:6Samaria’s calf-shaped idol was made in Israel. Skilled workers made it. It is not a god. It will be smashed to pieces.
- Habakkuk 2:18“What benefit is there in a carved idol when its maker has carved it? What benefit is there in a molded statue, a teacher of lies, when its maker has molded it? The one who formed it trusts himself to make worthless idols that cannot speak.
- Acts 19:26and you see and hear what this man Paul has done. He has won over a large crowd that follows him not only in Ephesus but also throughout the province of Asia. He tells people that gods made by humans are not gods.
- 1 Corinthians 10:19Do I mean that an offering made to a false god is anything, or that a false god itself is anything?
Commentaries on Psalms 115:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Their idols are silver, etc. - They are metal, stone, and wood. They are generally made in the form of man, but can neither see, hear, smell, feel, walk, nor speak. How brutish to trust in such! And next to these, in stupidity and inanity, must they be who form them, with the expectation of deriving any good from them. So obviously vain was the whole system of idolatry, that the more serious heathens ridiculed it, and it was a butt for the jests of their…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Their idols - Their gods - the gods which they worship, as contrasted with the God whom we adore. The design of this description Psalm 115:4-8 is to show the utter vanity of trusting in such gods, and to lead the people of Israel to put their trust in the true God - in Yahweh. Are silver and gold - Made of silver and gold, and they must have, therefore, the properties of silver and gold. They can be of value only as silver and gold. They cannot do the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-11This entire section is repeated in Psalm 135:15–20. Unlike the Lord (Psalm 95:3–5), idols cannot do anything. They are useless.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-74-7. (Compare Is 40:18-20; 44:9-20).Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 115:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 115
- 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
- The Treasury of David
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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