Verse 3

For the customs of the nations are worthless. They cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Isa 44:9-9 : 9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses see nothing and know nothing, so they will be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that can profit nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, and the craftsmen are mere men. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will be terrified and put to shame together. 12 The blacksmith works with iron, shaping it in the coals. He hammers it with his tools and works it with the strength of his arms. Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and becomes faint. 13 The carpenter measures out wood; he marks it with a stylus. He shapes it with chisels and marks it with a compass. He crafts it in the form of a man, a human figure, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars or chooses a cypress or an oak. He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine, and the rain makes it grow. 15 It becomes fuel for a man; he takes part of it to warm himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. 16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire; he roasts meat over it, eats, and is satisfied. He warms himself and says, 'Ah, I am warm; I see the fire.' 17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol, and bows down to it. He worships it and prays to it, saying, 'Save me, for you are my god.' 18 They have no knowledge or understanding; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their hearts so they cannot understand. 19 No one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, 'Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals, roasted meat, and ate. Now, should I make an abomination of the rest? Should I bow down to a block of wood?' 20 He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has led him astray, and he cannot save himself or say, 'Isn't there a lie in my right hand?'
  • Isa 45:20 : 20 Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
  • Jer 2:5 : 5 This is what the LORD says: ‘What fault did your ancestors find in me that they strayed so far from me? They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
  • Jer 10:8 : 8 They are all senseless and foolish; their instruction comes from worthless idols.
  • Hos 8:4-6 : 4 They set up kings, but not by me; they appointed leaders, but I did not know of it. With their silver and gold, they made idols for themselves, to their own destruction. 5 Your calf idol is rejected, Samaria! My anger burns against them. How long will they be unable to attain innocence? 6 This calf comes from Israel! A craftsman made it; it is not God. It will be shattered into pieces—this calf of Samaria.
  • Hab 2:18-19 : 18 What profit is an idol when its maker has carved it, or a cast image that teaches falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own creation to make worthless idols that cannot speak. 19 Woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!' or to silent stone, 'Arise!' Can it teach? Look, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath at all within it.
  • Matt 6:7 : 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
  • Rom 1:21 : 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
  • 1 Pet 1:18 : 18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life, inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,
  • Lev 18:30 : 30 So keep my charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were done before you, so you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.
  • 1 Kgs 18:26-28 : 26 So they took the bull that was given to them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, 'O Baal, answer us!' But there was no response, no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. 27 At noon, Elijah began to mock them, saying, 'Shout louder! Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.' 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.
  • Isa 40:19-31 : 19 As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. 20 A person who is too poor to afford such an idol selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple. 21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundations of the earth? 22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. 23 He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. 24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. 25 To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. 27 Why do you say, Jacob, and complain, Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God'? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.