Isaiah 40:20

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

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.

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Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • 1 Sam 5:3-4 : 3 When the people of Ashdod woke early the next morning, they found Dagon fallen face down on the ground before the Ark of the LORD. They picked up Dagon and returned it to its place. 4 But when they awoke early the next morning, they found Dagon fallen face down on the ground before the Ark of the LORD again. This time, Dagon’s head and the palms of his hands were broken off, lying on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon remained.
  • Isa 41:7 : 7 The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and the one who polishes with the hammer encourages the one striking the anvil, saying of the soldering, 'It is good.' They fasten it with nails so it will not move.
  • Isa 46:7 : 7 They lift it on their shoulders and carry it; they set it in its place, and there it stays. It does not move from its spot. If someone cries to it, it cannot answer or save them from their troubles.
  • Jer 10:3-4 : 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. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so it will not totter.
  • Dan 5:23 : 23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels from His house brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which cannot see, hear, or understand. But the God who holds your breath in His hand and controls all your ways, you have not glorified.
  • Isa 2:8-9 : 8 Their land is filled with idols. They bow down to the work of their own hands, to what their fingers have made. 9 So mankind is brought low, and humans are humbled—do not forgive them.
  • Isa 44:13-19 : 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?'

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Isa 40:18-19
    2 verses
    81%

    18To whom, then, will you compare God? What image can you find to resemble Him?

    19As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.

  • Isa 44:9-12
    4 verses
    78%

    9All 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.

    10Who fashions a god or casts an idol that can profit nothing?

    11Behold, 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.

    12The 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.

  • Hab 2:18-19
    2 verses
    76%

    18What 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.

    19Woe 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.

  • Isa 44:17
    76%

    17From 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.'

  • Jer 10:3-4
    2 verses
    75%

    3For 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.

    4They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so it will not totter.

  • Isa 44:14-15
    2 verses
    75%

    14He 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.

    15It 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.

  • Isa 46:6-7
    2 verses
    73%

    6They pour out gold from their purses and weigh silver on a scale. They hire a craftsman to make it into a god, and they bow down and even worship it.

    7They lift it on their shoulders and carry it; they set it in its place, and there it stays. It does not move from its spot. If someone cries to it, it cannot answer or save them from their troubles.

  • Jer 51:17-18
    2 verses
    73%

    17Every human is senseless, lacking knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.

    18They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment, they will perish.

  • Jer 10:14
    73%

    14Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by their idols. The images he makes are a fraud; they have no breath in them.

  • Isa 17:8
    73%

    8They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, nor will they regard what their fingers have made, neither the Asherim nor the incense altars.

  • Isa 2:8
    72%

    8Their land is filled with idols. They bow down to the work of their own hands, to what their fingers have made.

  • Isa 44:19-20
    2 verses
    71%

    19No 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?'

    20He 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?'

  • Ps 135:15
    71%

    15The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

  • Isa 45:20
    71%

    20Gather 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.

  • Ps 135:18
    71%

    18Those who make them will become like them; so will all who trust in them.

  • Deut 4:28
    71%

    28There you will serve gods made by human hands—objects of wood and stone that cannot see, hear, eat, or smell.

  • Ps 115:8
    71%

    8Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.

  • Jer 16:20
    71%

    20Can people make their own gods? Such gods are not gods at all!

  • Ps 115:4
    70%

    4Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

  • Ezek 20:32
    70%

    32What you have in mind will never happen. You say, 'We will be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.'

  • Ezek 15:3-4
    2 verses
    70%

    3Is wood taken from it to make anything useful? Can one make a peg from it to hang any utensil on?

    4Look, it is put into the fire for fuel. The fire consumes both ends of it, and its middle is charred. Is it useful for anything?

  • Ps 52:7
    70%

    7But God will tear you down forever; He will snatch and uproot you from your tent and dislodge you from the land of the living. Selah.

  • Jer 10:8
    70%

    8They are all senseless and foolish; their instruction comes from worthless idols.

  • Isa 41:24
    69%

    24Look, you are nothing, and your works are less than nothing; anyone who chooses you is an abomination.

  • Isa 10:15
    69%

    15Does the axe exalt itself above the one who wields it? Or does the saw boast against the one who moves it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff acting as though it were not made of wood.

  • Exod 35:33
    69%

    33He can cut and set gemstones, carve wood, and do all kinds of artistic craftwork.

  • Isa 41:7
    69%

    7The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and the one who polishes with the hammer encourages the one striking the anvil, saying of the soldering, 'It is good.' They fasten it with nails so it will not move.

  • Deut 27:15
    69%

    15Cursed is anyone who makes a carved or cast idol, an abomination to the LORD, the work of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret. Then all the people shall say, 'Amen.'

  • Isa 2:20
    69%

    20On that day, people will throw away their silver idols and their gold idols, which they made to worship, to the moles and bats.

  • Isa 31:7
    69%

    7For on that day each of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your hands have sinfully made.

  • Hos 10:1
    68%

    1Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more abundant his fruit, the more altars he built. The richer his land, the more he adorned sacred pillars.

  • Isa 40:21
    68%

    21Do 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?

  • Prov 28:19
    68%

    19Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but the one who chases worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

  • 1 Chr 29:5
    68%

    5Gold for the gold work and silver for the silver work, and for all the work done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the LORD today?

  • Ezek 7:20
    68%

    20They took pride in the beauty of their jewelry and made it into images of their detestable idols. Therefore, I will make it a thing of uncleanness for them.

  • Exod 31:4
    68%

    4to design artistic works, to work in gold, silver, and bronze,

  • Isa 27:11
    68%

    11When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and light them on fire. For this is a people without understanding; therefore, their Maker will not have compassion on them, and their Creator will not show them favor.

  • Prov 13:7
    68%

    7One pretends to be rich yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor yet has great wealth.

  • Isa 27:9
    68%

    9By this, the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the altar stones like crushed chalk stones, and no Asherah poles or incense altars will stand.