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Isaiah 40:19-20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Isaiah 40:19-20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
19 An idol? An artisan casts it,
the smith plates it with gold,
fits it with silver chains.[a](A)
20 Is mulberry wood the offering?
A skilled artisan picks out
a wood that will not rot,
Seeks to set up for himself
an idol that will not totter.(B)
Isaiah 40:19-20
New International Version
Isaiah 40:19-20
New International Version
Isaiah 44:9-20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Isaiah 44:9-20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
9 [a]Those who fashion idols are all nothing;
their precious works are of no avail.
They are their witnesses:[b]
they see nothing, know nothing,
and so they are put to shame.(A)
10 Who would fashion a god or cast an idol,
that is of no use?
11 Look, all its company will be shamed;
they are artisans, mere human beings!
They all assemble and stand there,
only to cower in shame.
12 The ironsmith fashions a likeness,
he works it over the coals,
Shaping it with hammers,
working it with his strong arm.
With hunger his strength wanes,
without water, he grows faint.(B)
13 The woodworker stretches a line,
and marks out a shape with a stylus.
He shapes it with scraping tools,
with a compass measures it off,
Making it the copy of a man,[c]
human display, enthroned in a shrine.
14 He goes out to cut down cedars,
takes a holm tree or an oak.
He picks out for himself trees of the forest,
plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow.
15 It is used for fuel:
with some of the wood he warms himself,
makes a fire and bakes bread.
Yet he makes a god and worships it,
turns it into an idol and adores it!
16 Half of it he burns in the fire,
on its embers he roasts meat;
he eats the roast and is full.
He warms himself and says, “Ah!
I am warm! I see the flames!”
17 The rest of it he makes into a god,
an image to worship and adore.
He prays to it and says,
“Help me! You are my god!”
18 They do not know, do not understand;
their eyes are too clouded to see,
their minds, to perceive.
19 He does not think clearly;
he lacks the wit and knowledge to say,
“Half the wood I burned in the fire,
on its embers I baked bread,
I roasted meat and ate.
Shall I turn the rest into an abomination?
Shall I worship a block of wood?”
20 He is chasing ashes![d]
A deluded mind has led him astray;
He cannot save himself,
does not say, “This thing in my right hand—is it not a fraud?”
Footnotes
- 44:9–20 A satire on the makers and worshipers of idols.
- 44:9 Their witnesses: Israel has been called to bear witness to the awesome power of God (cf. 43:10, 12; 44:8), but idol makers cannot testify in support of their creations, for idols cannot act (Dt 4:28; Ps 135:15–18).
- 44:13 Copy of a man: in the biblical view human beings are made in the image of God; here gods are made in the image of human beings.
- 44:20 Chasing ashes: an exercise in futility.
Isaiah 44:9-20
New International Version
Isaiah 44:9-20
New International Version
9 All who make idols(A) are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.(B)
Those who would speak up for them are blind;(C)
they are ignorant, to their own shame.(D)
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,(E)
which can profit nothing?(F)
11 People who do that will be put to shame;(G)
such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
they will be brought down to terror and shame.(H)
12 The blacksmith(I) takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.(J)
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.(K)
13 The carpenter(L) measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in human form,(M)
human form in all its glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.(N)
14 He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine,(O) and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel(P) for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships(Q) it;
he makes an idol and bows(R) down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.(S)”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.(T)
He prays(U) to it and says,
“Save(V) me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand(W) nothing;
their eyes(X) are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding(Y) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;(Z)
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable(AA) thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”(AB)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;(AC) a deluded(AD) heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?(AE)”
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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