Psalms 135:15

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

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

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

עֲצַבֵּ֣י הַ֭גּוֹיִם כֶּ֣סֶף וְזָהָ֑ב מַ֝עֲשֵׂ֗ה יְדֵ֣י אָדָֽם׃

Transliteration

ʿăṣabbēy haggōyim kesep wᵉzāhāb maʿăśēh yᵉdēy ʾādām

Grammar Details

• *ʿăṣabbēy*: noun, masculine plural construct - idols of
• *haggōyim*: definite article + noun, masculine plural - the nations
• *kesep*: noun, masculine singular - silver
• *wᵉzāhāb*: conjunction + noun, masculine singular - and gold
• *maʿăśēh*: noun, masculine singular construct - work of
• *yᵉdēy*: noun, feminine dual construct - hands of
• *ʾādām*: noun, masculine singular - man/humankind

Word Meanings

• *ʿăṣabbēy*: idols/images/figurines
• *gōyim*: nations/peoples/gentiles
• *kesep*: silver/money
• *zāhāb*: gold
• *maʿăśēh*: work/product/creation
• *yᵉdēy*: hands/handiwork
• *ʾādām*: man/human/mankind

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  The idols{H6091} of the nations{H1471} are silver{H3701} and gold,{H2091} The work{H4639} of men's{H120} hands.{H3027}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  The idols{H6091} of the heathen{H1471} are silver{H3701} and gold{H2091}, the work{H4639} of men's{H120} hands{H3027}.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  As for the ymages of the Heithe, they are but syluer and golde, the worke of mens hades.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  The idoles of the heathen are siluer and golde, euen the worke of mens handes.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  As for the idols of the Heathen they are but siluer and golde: the worke of mens handes.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  ¶ The idols of the heathen [are] silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men's hands.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  The idols of the nations `are' silver and gold, Work of the hands of man.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men's hands.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men's hands.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  The images of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

• World English Bible (2000)

  The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold, they are man-made.

Referenced Verses

• Ps 115:4-8 : 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see. 6 They have ears but cannot hear, noses but cannot smell. 7 They have hands but cannot touch, feet but cannot walk, nor can they make a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.
• Isa 37:19 : 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but the work of human hands—wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.
• Isa 40:19-20 : 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.
• 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 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.
• Jer 10:3-9 : 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. 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. 6 There is no one like You, Lord. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power. 7 Who should not fear You, King of the nations? This is Your due. Among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like You. 8 They are all senseless and foolish; their instruction comes from worthless idols. 9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz—the work of the craftsman and of the goldsmith. Their clothing is blue and purple, all made by skilled workers. 10 But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King. When He is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure His wrath. 11 Tell them this: 'The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.'
• 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.
• Acts 17:29 : 29 Therefore, since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold, silver, or stone—an image formed by human skill and imagination.
• Deut 4:28 : 28 There you will serve gods made by human hands—objects of wood and stone that cannot see, hear, eat, or smell.