Isaiah 45:20

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

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.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

הִקָּבְצ֥וּ וָבֹ֛אוּ הִֽתְנַגְּשׁ֥וּ יַחְדָּ֖ו פְּלִיטֵ֣י הַגּוֹיִ֑ם לֹ֣א יָדְע֗וּ הַנֹּֽשְׂאִים֙ אֶת־עֵ֣ץ פִּסְלָ֔ם וּמִתְפַּלְלִ֔ים אֶל־אֵ֖ל לֹ֥א יוֹשִֽׁיעַ

Transliteration

hiqqābṣû and-bōʾû hitnagĕšû yaḥdāw pĕlîṭê the-gôyim not yādĕʿû the-nōśĕʾîm [direct object marker]-ʿēṣ pislām and-mitpalĕlîm to-ʾēl not yôšîaʿ

Grammar Details

• *hiqqābṣû*: niphal imperative, masculine plural - assemble/gather yourselves
• *bōʾû*: qal imperative, masculine plural - come
• *hitnagĕšû*: hithpael imperative, masculine plural - draw near together
• *yaḥdāw*: adverb - together/all of them
• *pĕlîṭê*: masculine plural construct - escapees/survivors of
• *gôyim*: masculine plural noun with definite article - the nations/gentiles
• *yādĕʿû*: qal perfect, 3rd common plural - they know
• *nōśĕʾîm*: qal participle, masculine plural with definite article - the ones carrying
• *ʿēṣ*: masculine singular noun - wood/tree
• *pislām*: masculine singular noun with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - their carved image
• *mitpalĕlîm*: hithpael participle, masculine plural - praying/who pray
• *ʾēl*: masculine singular noun - god/deity
• *yôšîaʿ*: hiphil imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - he saves/delivers

Word Meanings

• *hiqqābṣû*: assemble/gather yourselves/come together
• *hitnagĕšû*: draw near together/approach/come together
• *yaḥdāw*: together/all of them/at once
• *pĕlîṭê*: escapees/survivors/fugitives
• *nōśĕʾîm*: the ones carrying/bearers/those who lift up
• *ʿēṣ*: wood/tree/timber
• *pislām*: their carved image/their idol/their sculpture
• *mitpalĕlîm*: praying/who pray/supplicating
• *yôšîaʿ*: he saves/delivers/rescues

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations: they have no knowledge who set up the wood of their carved image, and pray to a god that cannot save.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  Assemble{H6908} yourselves and come;{H935} draw near{H5066} together,{H3162} ye that are escaped{H6412} of the nations:{H1471} they have no knowledge{H3045} that carry{H5375} the wood{H6086} of their graven image,{H6459} and pray{H6419} unto a god{H410} that cannot save.{H3467}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  Assemble{H6908}{(H8734)} yourselves and come{H935}{(H8798)}; draw near{H5066}{(H8690)} together{H3162}, ye that are escaped{H6412} of the nations{H1471}: they have no knowledge{H3045}{(H8804)} that set up{H5375}{(H8802)} the wood{H6086} of their graven image{H6459}, and pray{H6419}{(H8693)} unto a god{H410} that cannot save{H3467}{(H8686)}.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Let the be gathered & come together, let the drawe nye hyther, yt are escaped of the people: Haue they eny vnderstondinge, that set vp the stockes of their Idols, and praye vnto a god, that ca not helpe the?

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Assemble your selues, & come: drawe neere together, ye abiect of the Gentiles: they haue no knowledge, that set vp the wood of their idole, and pray vnto a god, that cannot saue them.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Gather you and come together, drawe nigh hither you that escaped of the people: they haue no vnderstanding that set vp the stockes of their idols, and pray vnto a god that can not helpe them.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  ¶ Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye [that are] escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god [that] cannot save.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations: they have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image, and pray to a god that can't save.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  Be gathered, and come in, Come nigh together, ye escaped of the nations, They have not known, Who are lifting up the wood of their graven image, And praying unto a god `that' saveth not.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  Come together, even come near, you nations who are still living: they have no knowledge who take up their image of wood, and make prayer to a god in whom is no salvation.

• World English Bible (2000)

  "Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image, and pray to a god that can't save.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  Gather together and come! Approach together, you refugees from the nations! Those who carry wooden idols know nothing, those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.

Referenced Verses

• Isa 43:9 : 9 All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this and proclaim the former things? Let them produce their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, 'It is true.'
• Isa 46:1 : 1 Bel has stooped; Nebo has bowed down. Their idols are placed on animals and livestock. These burdens you carry are heavy, a load for the weary.
• Jer 10:5 : 5 They are like scarecrows in a cucumber field; they cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm—nor can they do any good.
• Jer 10:8 : 8 They are all senseless and foolish; their instruction comes from worthless idols.
• Jer 10:14 : 14 Everyone 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.
• Jer 25:15-29 : 15 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: 'Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.' 16 They will drink, stagger, and act like madmen because of the sword I am sending among them. 17 So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it. 18 Jerusalem, the towns of Judah, its kings, and officials, to make them a ruin, a desolation, an object of hissing and cursing, as they are today. 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officials, his leaders, and all his people. 20 All the mixed peoples and all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the Philistine cities: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod. 21 Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon. 22 All the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea. 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who clip the corners of their hair. 24 All the kings of Arabia and the kings of the mixed peoples who live in the desert. 25 All the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media. 26 And all the kings of the north, near and far, one after another—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after them, the king of Sheshach will drink. 27 Then say to them: This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'Drink, get drunk, and vomit; fall and do not rise, because of the sword I am sending among you.' 28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, tell them, 'This is what the LORD of Hosts says: You must drink it!' 29 For behold, I am bringing disaster on the city that bears my name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of Hosts.
• Jer 50:28 : 28 Listen to the voice of those fleeing and escaping from the land of Babylon, proclaiming in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance for His temple.
• Jer 51:6-9 : 6 Flee from Babylon! Save your lives! Do not perish in her punishment, for it is the time of the Lord's vengeance; He will repay her what she has done. 7 Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating the whole earth. The nations drank her wine; therefore, they have gone mad. 8 Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered. Wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. 9 We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Leave her, and let each one go to his own land, for her judgment has reached to the heavens and has risen to the skies.
• Jer 51:17-18 : 17 Every 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. 18 They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment, they will perish.
• Hab 2:18-20 : 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. 20 But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
• Rom 1:21-23 : 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. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools. 23 And they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, animals, and creeping things.
• Eph 2:12 : 12 were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
• Eph 2:16 : 16 and might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, by which He put their hostility to death.
• Rev 18:3-9 : 3 For all the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the abundance of her luxurious living. 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, so that you do not share in her sins and so that you do not receive any of her plagues.' 5 For her sins have piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her injustices. 6 Repay her as she herself has repaid others, and pay her back double according to her deeds; in the cup she has mixed, mix a double portion for her. 7 As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, give her that much torment and grief, because in her heart she says, 'I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and I will never see grief.' 8 Because of this, her plagues will come in a single day: death, mourning, and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for the mighty Lord God is the one who judges her. 9 The kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality with her and lived in luxury will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 Standing far off because of the fear of her torment, they will say, 'Woe, woe to the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.' 11 The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her, because no one buys their cargo anymore— 12 cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, crimson, all kinds of scented wood, every article of ivory, every article made of the most costly wood, and of bronze, iron, and marble, 13 and cinnamon, spice, incense, ointment, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, and human bodies and souls. 14 The fruit your soul longed for has departed from you. All your luxurious and splendid things are lost to you, never to be found again. 15 The merchants who became rich from her will stand far off, out of fear for her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying, 'Woe, woe to the great city, dressed in fine linen, purple, and crimson, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls!' 17 For in one hour such great wealth has been destroyed!' Every ship captain, all who travel by ship, sailors, and those who earn their living from the sea stood far off, 18 And they cried out as they watched the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What city is like the great city?'
• Isa 46:6-7 : 6 They 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. 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.
• Isa 48:5-7 : 5 I declared it to you long ago; before it happened, I made you hear of it, so you could not say, 'My idol has done this; my carved and molten images have commanded it.' 6 You have heard it—now see all of it! And will you not declare it? From now on I will make you hear new things, hidden things that you have not known. 7 They are created now, not long ago; before today, you didn’t hear of them, so that you cannot say, 'Behold, I knew them.'
• Jer 2:27-28 : 27 They say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces. Yet in their time of trouble, they will say, ‘Arise and save us!’ 28 But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise and save you in your time of trouble, if they can. For as many as your cities are your gods, Judah.
• 1 Kgs 18:26-29 : 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. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening offering. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
• Ps 115:8 : 8 Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.
• Isa 4:2 : 2 In that day, the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and splendor of the survivors of Israel.
• Isa 41:5-6 : 5 The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble. They draw near and come forward. 6 Each one helps his neighbor and says to his brother, 'Be strong!'
• Isa 41:21 : 21 Present your case, says the Lord. Set forth your arguments, says Jacob’s King.
• Isa 42:17-18 : 17 They will be turned back; they will be utterly ashamed—those who trust in carved idols and say to molten images, 'You are our gods.' 18 Hear, you deaf! Look, you blind, that you may see!
• Isa 44:17-20 : 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?'