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 announce it! Let him arrange it in order for Me— as I established the ancient nation. Let them declare to them what is coming and future events. 8Do not dread or be afraid. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? So you are My witnesses! Is there any God beside Me? Is there any other Rock? I know of none. Those who fashion idols are empty. Their precious things do not profit. Their witnesses do not see or know, so they will be put to shame. 10Who fashions a god or casts an idol for no profit? 11Behold, all his friends will be ashamed, for the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble. Let them stand up. Let them dread. Let them 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 null. Whoever chooses you is loathsome.
• Deuteronomy 27:15‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molten image—an abomination to Adonai, the work of a craftsman’s hands—and sets it up in secret.’ Then all the people are to answer and say, ‘Amen.’
• Psalms 97:7Let all who serve graven images be ashamed—who boast in idols. Bow down before Him, all you gods!
• Jeremiah 10:3The customs of the peoples are useless: it is just a tree cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
• Isaiah 2:20In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made to worship, to the moles and to the bats!
• Isaiah 37:18It is true, Adonai, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands,
• Isaiah 46:1Bel bows down; Nebo stoops over. Their idols are for beasts and cattle. The things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts.
• 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 18:26So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning till noon, crying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice—no one was answering. They also danced leaping around the altar that was made.
• 1 Kings 2:11The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years—seven years he reigned in Hebron and 33 years he reigned in Jerusalem.
• 1 Kings 14:22Judah did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes. They provoked Him to jealousy with more than all that their forefathers had done with the sins that they committed.
• 1 Kings 16:19because of the sins which he committed, doing what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, walking in the way of Jeroboam and in the sin which he had committed, making Israel sin.
• Daniel 5:23Instead you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels of His House brought before you, and you and your nobles, your consorts and your concubines have been drinking wine in them. You have praised the gods made of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. Yet you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.
• Hosea 8:4They crowned kings, but not by Me. They appointed princes I did not approve. Their silver and gold they made into idols— just so they would be cut down.
• Habakkuk 2:18What use is an idol when its craftsman has carved it? Or a metal image—a teacher of lies? For a craftsman has trusted in the image that he created, to make dumb idols.
• 1 Corinthians 8:4Therefore concerning the eating of idol sacrifices, we know that an idol is nothing 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
• 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