Isaiah 40:20
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
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.
21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- To one bereft of an offering who chooses wood that will not rot, who seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple?
- KJV
- 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.
- WEB
- He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up a carved image for him that will not be moved.
- ASV
- 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.
- DARBY
- He that is impoverished, so that he hath no offering, chooseth a tree that doth not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilled workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved.
- BLB
- One bereft of a contribution chooses a tree not rotten, and a skillful craftsman seeks out for himself to prepare a carved image [that] will not topple?
- ÅB
- Den som ikke har råd til en slik gave, han velger tre som ikke råtner; han søker opp en kyndig mester for at han skal få i stand et bilde som står støtt.
- OTB
- En person for fattig til et slikt offer velger tre som ikke vil råtne; de ser etter en dyktig håndverker til å sette opp et idol som ikke vil vakle.
- B1930
- Den som ikke har råd til en sådan gave, han velger tre som ikke råtner; han søker op en kyndig mester forat han skal få i stand et billede som står støtt.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Jeremiah 10:3–4
For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
Read in contextIsaiah 41:7
So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
Read in contextIsaiah 46:7
They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
Read in contextIsaiah 2:8–9
Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
Read in contextDaniel 5:23
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Read in contextIsaiah 44:13–19
The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.
Read in context1 Samuel 5:3–4
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
Read in context