New Living Translation
Psalms 115:4
4Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped 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 let the nations say, “Where is their God?” 3Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. 5They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. 6They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but 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 97:7Those who worship idols are disgraced— all who brag about their worthless gods— for every god must bow to him.
- Psalms 135:15The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
- Deuteronomy 4:28There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
- Isaiah 40:19Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
- Isaiah 42:17But those who trust in idols, who say, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned away in shame.
- Isaiah 46:1Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon, bow as they are lowered to the ground. They are being hauled away on ox carts. The poor beasts stagger under the weight.
- Jeremiah 10:3Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
- Hosea 8:6This calf you worship, O Israel, was crafted by your own hands! It is not God! Therefore, it must be smashed to bits.
- Habakkuk 2:18“What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can’t even talk!
- Acts 19:26But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!
- 1 Corinthians 10:19What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods?
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
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