1 Chronicles 16:26

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

For all the gods of the nations are worthless, but the LORD made the heavens.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כִּ֠י כָּל־אֱלֹהֵ֤י הָעַמִּים֙ אֱלִילִ֔ים וַיהוָ֖ה שָׁמַ֥יִם עָשָֽׂה׃

Transliteration

For all-ʾĕlōhê [gods of] hāʿammîm [the peoples] are ʾĕlîlîm [idols], but YHWH [the LORD] šāmayim [heavens] ʿāśâ [made].

Grammar Details

• *ʾĕlōhê*: construct plural - gods of
• *hāʿammîm*: definite article + plural noun - the peoples
• *ʾĕlîlîm*: plural noun - idols/worthless things
• *šāmayim*: plural noun - heavens/sky
• *ʿāśâ*: qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular - he made
• *kî*: conjunction - for/because
• *kol-* (prefix): construct state - all of
• *wǎ-* (prefix): conjunction - but/and

Word Meanings

• *ʾĕlōhîm*: gods/divine beings
• *ʿammîm*: peoples/nations/tribes
• *ʾĕlîlîm*: idols/worthless things/nothings
• *šāmayim*: heavens/sky
• *ʿāśâ*: make/do/create

Referenced Verses

• Lev 19:4 : 4 Do not turn to idols, and you must not make for yourselves gods of cast metal. I am the LORD your God.
• Ps 102:25 : 25 In earlier times you established the earth; the skies are your handiwork.
• Isa 44:24 : 24 The Lord Empowers Cyrus This is what the LORD, your protector, says, the one who formed you in the womb:“I am the LORD, who made everything, who alone stretched out the sky, who fashioned the earth all by myself,
• Isa 42:5 : 5 This is what the true God, the LORD, says– the one who created the sky and stretched it out, the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, the one who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who live on it:
• Isa 44:9-9 : 9 All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame. 10 Who forms a god and casts an idol that will prove worthless? 11 Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame. 12 A blacksmith works with his tool and forges metal over the coals. He forms it with hammers; he makes it with his strong arm. He gets hungry and loses his energy; he drinks no water and gets tired. 13 A carpenter takes measurements; he marks out an outline of its form; he scrapes it with chisels, and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after the human form, like a well-built human being, and puts it in a shrine. 14 He cuts down cedars and acquires a cypress or an oak. He gets trees from the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain makes it grow. 15 A man uses it to make a fire; he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire– over that half he cooks meat; he roasts a meal and fills himself. Yes, he warms himself and says,‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’ 17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships it. He prays to it, saying,‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’ 18 They do not comprehend or understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see; their minds do not discern. 19 No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:‘I burned half of it in the fire– yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?’ 20 He feeds on ashes; his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say,‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’
• Jer 10:10-14 : 10 The LORD is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. When he shows his anger the earth shakes. None of the nations can stand up to his fury. 11 You people of Israel should tell those nations this:‘These gods did not make heaven and earth. They will disappear from the earth and from under the heavens.’ 12 The LORD is the one who by his power made the earth. He is the one who by his wisdom established the world. And by his understanding he spread out the skies. 13 When his voice thunders, the heavenly ocean roars. He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it. 14 All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.
• Acts 19:26 : 26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd, not only in Ephesus but in practically all of the province of Asia, by saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all.
• 1 Cor 8:4 : 4 With regard then to eating food sacrificed to idols, we know that“an idol in this world is nothing,” and that“there is no God but one.”
• Rev 14:7 : 7 He declared in a loud voice:“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”
• Ps 115:4-8 : 4 Their idols are made of silver and gold– they are man-made. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see, 6 ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell, 7 hands, but cannot touch, feet, but cannot walk. They cannot even clear their throats. 8 Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.
• Isa 40:26 : 26 Look up at the sky! Who created all these heavenly lights? He is the one who leads out their ranks; he calls them all by name. Because of his absolute power and awesome strength, not one of them is missing.