Isaiah 40:20

KJV1611 – Modern English

He who is so impoverished that he has no offering chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks for himself a skillful workman to prepare a graven image that will not be moved.

Additional Resources

Other Translations

  • 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.

  • King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

    He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

  • American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

    He that is too impoverished{H5533} for [such] an oblation{H8641} chooseth{H977} a tree{H6086} that will not rot;{H7537} he seeketh{H1245} unto him a skilful{H2450} workman{H2796} to set{H3559} up a graven image,{H6459} that shall not be moved.{H4131}

  • King James Version with Strong's Numbers

    He that is so impoverished{H5533}{(H8794)}{(H8676)}{H5534}{(H8765)} that he hath no oblation{H8641} chooseth{H977}{(H8799)} a tree{H6086} that will not rot{H7537}{(H8799)}; he seeketh{H1245}{(H8762)} unto him a cunning{H2450} workman{H2796} to prepare{H3559}{(H8687)} a graven image{H6459}, that shall not be moved{H4131}{(H8735)}.

  • Coverdale Bible (1535)

    Morouer shal the ymage maker (yt the poore man which is disposed, maye haue somthinge to set vp also) seke out and chose a tre, that is not rotten, and carue ther out an ymage, yt moueth not?

  • Geneva Bible (1560)

    Doeth not the poore chuse out a tree that will not rot, for an oblation? he seeketh also vnto him a cunning workeman, to prepare an image, that shall not be moued.

  • Bishops' Bible (1568)

    Moreouer, shal the image maker that the poore man which is disposed may haue some thyng to set vp also, seeke out and choose a tree that is not rotten, and carue thereout an image that moueth not?

  • Authorized King James Version (1611)

    He that [is] so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree [that] will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, [that] shall not be moved.

  • Webster's Bible (1833)

    He who is too impoverished for [such] an offering chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks to him a skillful workman to set up an engraved image, that shall not be moved.

  • Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

    He who is poor `by' heave-offerings, A tree not rotten doth choose, A skilful artizan he seeketh for it, To establish a graven image -- not moved.

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    He that is too impoverished for `such' an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    He that is too impoverished for [such] an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.

  • Bible in Basic English (1941)

    The wise workman makes selection of the mulberry-tree of the offering, a wood which will not become soft; so that the image may be fixed to it and not be moved.

  • World English Bible (2000)

    He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up an engraved image for him that will not be moved.

  • NET Bible® (New English Translation)

    To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make an idol that will not fall over.

Referenced Verses

  • 1 Sam 5:3-4 : 3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place. 4 And when they arose early the following morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the torso of Dagon was left to him.
  • Isa 41:7 : 7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smooths with the hammer him that struck the anvil, saying, It is ready for the soldering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
  • Isa 46:7 : 7 They carry him upon the shoulder, they bear him, and set him in his place, and he stands; from his place he shall not move: yes, one shall cry to him, yet he cannot answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
  • Jer 10:3-4 : 3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4 They decorate it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, so that it does not move.
  • Dan 5:23 : 23 But you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them, and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, brass, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
  • Isa 2:8-9 : 8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, what their own fingers have made. 9 And the average man bows down, and the great man humbles himself; therefore do not forgive them.
  • Isa 44:13-19 : 13 The carpenter stretches out his rule; he marks it out with a line; he fits it with planes, and he marks it out with the compass, and makes it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. 14 He cuts down cedars, and takes the cypress and the oak, which he strengthens for himself among the trees of the forest: he plants an ash, and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it shall be for a man to burn: for he will take of it, and warm himself; yes, he kindles it, and bakes bread; yes, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it a carved image, and falls down to it. 16 He burns part of it in the fire; with part of it he eats flesh; he roasts a roast, and is satisfied: yes, he warms himself, and says, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, even his carved image: he falls down to it, and worships it, and prays to it, and says, Deliver me, for you are my god. 18 They have not known nor understood: for he has shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. 19 And none considers in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yes, also I have baked bread on the coals of it; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the rest of it an abomination? shall I fall down to the stump of a tree?

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%

    18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?

    19 The workman molds a graven image, the goldsmith covers it with gold and casts silver chains.

  • Isa 44:9-12
    4 verses
    78%

    9 Those who make a carved image are all of them vanity; and their delightful things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.

    10 Who has formed a god, or cast a carved image that is profitable for nothing?

    11 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.

    12 The smith with the tongs both works in the coals, and fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms: yes, he is hungry, and his strength fails: he drinks no water, and is faint.

  • Hab 2:18-19
    2 verses
    76%

    18 What profit is the carved image that its maker has carved it; the molded image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusts in it, to make mute idols?

    19 Woe to him who says to the wood, Awake; to the mute stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in its midst.

  • Isa 44:17
    76%

    17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, even his carved image: he falls down to it, and worships it, and prays to it, and says, Deliver me, for you are my god.

  • Jer 10:3-4
    2 verses
    75%

    3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

    4 They decorate it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, so that it does not move.

  • Isa 44:14-15
    2 verses
    75%

    14 He cuts down cedars, and takes the cypress and the oak, which he strengthens for himself among the trees of the forest: he plants an ash, and the rain nourishes it.

    15 Then it shall be for a man to burn: for he will take of it, and warm himself; yes, he kindles it, and bakes bread; yes, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.

  • Isa 46:6-7
    2 verses
    73%

    6 They pour out gold from the bag, and weigh silver on the scales, and hire a goldsmith; and he makes it a god: they fall down, yes, they worship.

    7 They carry him upon the shoulder, they bear him, and set him in his place, and he stands; from his place he shall not move: yes, one shall cry to him, yet he cannot answer, nor save him out of his trouble.

  • Jer 51:17-18
    2 verses
    73%

    17 Every man is senseless by his knowledge; every craftsman is put to shame by the graven image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

    18 They are vanity, the work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

  • Jer 10:14
    73%

    14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is humiliated by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

  • Isa 17:8
    73%

    8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall he respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves or the images.

  • Isa 2:8
    72%

    8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, what their own fingers have made.

  • Isa 44:19-20
    2 verses
    71%

    19 And none considers in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yes, also I have baked bread on the coals of it; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the rest of it an abomination? shall I fall down to the stump of a tree?

    20 He feeds on ashes: a deceived heart has turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

  • Ps 135:15
    71%

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

  • Isa 45:20
    71%

    20 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.

  • Ps 135:18
    71%

    18 Those who make them are like them: so is everyone that trusts in them.

  • Deut 4:28
    71%

    28 And there you shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

  • Ps 115:8
    71%

    8 Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.

  • Jer 16:20
    71%

    20 Shall a man make gods for himself, which are not gods?

  • Ps 115:4
    70%

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

  • Ezek 20:32
    70%

    32 And what comes into your mind shall not happen, that you say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

  • Ezek 15:3-4
    2 verses
    70%

    3 Shall wood be taken from it to do any work? Or will one take a peg from it to hang any vessel upon?

    4 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire consumes both ends of it, and the middle of it is burned. Is it fit for any work?

  • Ps 52:7
    70%

    7 Look, this is the man that did not make God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

  • Jer 10:8
    70%

    8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the wooden idol is a doctrine of vanities.

  • Isa 41:24
    69%

    24 Behold, you are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooses you.

  • Isa 10:15
    69%

    15 Shall the ax boast against him who cuts with it? Or shall the saw magnify itself against him who shakes it? As if the rod should shake itself against those who lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were not wood.

  • Exod 35:33
    69%

    33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of skillful work.

  • Isa 41:7
    69%

    7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smooths with the hammer him that struck the anvil, saying, It is ready for the soldering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.

  • Deut 27:15
    69%

    15 Cursed be the man that makes any graven or molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and puts it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.

  • Isa 2:20
    69%

    20 In that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

  • Isa 31:7
    69%

    7 For in that day every man will cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made for you as a sin.

  • Hos 10:1
    68%

    1 Israel is an empty vine, he brings forth fruit for himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he has increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made beautiful images.

  • Isa 40:21
    68%

    21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

  • Prov 28:19
    68%

    19 He who tills his land shall have plenty of bread, but he who follows vain persons shall have poverty enough.

  • 1 Chr 29:5
    68%

    5 The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be made by the hands of craftsmen. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day to the LORD?

  • Ezek 7:20
    68%

    20 As for the beauty of his ornaments, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein; therefore, have I set it far from them.

  • Exod 31:4
    68%

    4 To devise skillful works, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze,

  • Isa 27:11
    68%

    11 When its boughs are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come and set them on fire; for it is a people of no understanding: therefore He who made them will not have mercy on them, and He who formed them will show them no favor.

  • Prov 13:7
    68%

    7 There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; there is one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

  • Isa 27:9
    68%

    9 By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he makes all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten apart, the groves and images shall not stand up.