Psalms 115:4
2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
6 they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell;
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- KJV
- Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
- WEB
- Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
- ASV
- Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men`s hands.
- DARBY
- Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands:
- BLB
- Their idols [are] silver and gold, the work of the hands of man.
- ÅB
- Deres avguder er sølv og gull, et verk av menneskehender.
- OTB
- Deres avguder er av sølv og gull,
laget av menneskehender. - B1930
- Deres avguder er sølv og gull, et verk av menneskehender.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Deuteronomy 4:28
And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
Read in contextIsaiah 46:6–7
They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.
Read in contextJeremiah 10:3–5
For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman.
Read in contextIsaiah 40:19–20
To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?
Read in contextHabakkuk 2:18–20
What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it— or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
Read in contextIsaiah 44:10
Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing?
Read in contextIsaiah 46:1–2
Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
Read in contextIsaiah 37:19
They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
Read in context