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

7Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. 8Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’” Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. 10Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit? 11Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.

Isaiah 44:9 word by word

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

• Those who fashionיָצַרyâtsar · to form: formedH3335
• a gravenפֶּ֫סֶלpesel · idolH6459
• are allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• of them futileתֹּ֫הוּtôhû · formlessnessH8414
• and their preciousחָמַדchâmad · to desireH2530
• thingsחָמַדchâmad · to desireH2530
• are of noבַּלbal · notH1077
• profitיָעַלya‛al · to gainH3276
• even their own witnessesעֵד‛êd · witnessH5707
• to seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• or knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• soמַ֫עַןma‛an · becauseH4616
• putבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954

Cross-references for Isaiah 44:9

• Isaiah 41:24Behold, you are of no account, And your work amounts to nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination.
• Deuteronomy 27:15‘Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
• Psalms 97:7Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, Who boast themselves of idols; Worship Him, all you gods.
• Jeremiah 10:3For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
• Isaiah 2:20In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats Their idols of silver and their idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship,
• Isaiah 37:18Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands,
• Isaiah 46:1Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over; Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle. The things that you carry are burdensome, A load for the weary beast.
• Judges 10:14Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.”
• 1 Kings 18:26Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made.
• 1 Kings 2:11The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem.
• 1 Kings 14:22Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with the sins which they committed.
• 1 Kings 16:19because of his sins which he sinned, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, making Israel sin.
• Daniel 5:23but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.
• Hosea 8:4They have set up kings, but not by Me; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off.
• Habakkuk 2:18“What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols.
• 1 Corinthians 8:4Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, 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
• Isaiah

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