Isaiah 2:20
in Isaiah 2In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold—the idols they made to worship.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
KJV
In that day a man shall cast 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;
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This verse in Isaiah 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhich they made each one for himself to worship “Which they have made to worship” - The word לו lo, for himself, is omitted by two ancient MSS., and is unnecessary. It does not appear that any copy of the Septuagint has it, except MS. Pachom, and MS. 1. D. II., and they have ἑαυτοις, להם lahem, to themselves.
This site's exposition
In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold
on Isaiah 2:20-22
In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold pictures the same wealth catalogued at verse seven finally discarded, thrown to the moles and to the bats, creatures of the dark and the cave rather than any place of honor. Verse twenty one repeats the flight into the clefts of the rocks from verse nineteen, the terror of the Lord's rising to shake the earth given twice within a few verses for emphasis. The chapter's closing line turns from the coming day to a plain command for the present one, cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, a warning against exactly the trust in horses, treasure and idols the chapter has just catalogued.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Here he removes the third, namely confidence in idols. And first, he takes away their help; "to adore": "And I went in and saw, and behold every form of creeping things, and of living creatures, the abominations, and all the idols of the house of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols o gold,....
And now which of these Jerusalems will we be the inhabitants of--that which is full of the knowledge of God, which will be our everlasting honour, or that which is full of horses and chariots, and silver and gold, and such idols, which will in the end be our shame?
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
moles--Others translate "mice." The sense is, under ground, in darkness. bats--unclean birds (Le 11:19), living amidst tenantless ruins (Re 11:13).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In that day - That is, in the time when God would come forth to inflict punishment. Probably the day to which the prophet refers here was the time of the captivity at Babylon. A man shall cast ... - That is, “all” who have idols, or who have been trusting in them. Valuable as they may be - made of gold and silver; and much as he may “now” rely on them or worship them, yet he shall then see their vanity, and shall cast them into dark, obscure places, or holes, where are moles and bats. To the moles - פרות לחפר lachepor pērôth. Probably this should be read as a single word, and it is usually interpreted “moles.” Jerome interprets it as mice or moles, from חפר châphar, “to dig.” The word is formed by doubling the radical letters to give “intensity.” Similar instances of words being divided in the Hebrew, which are nevertheless to be read as one, occur in 2Ch 24:6; Jer 46:20; Lam 4:3; Eze 27:6. The mole is a well-known animal, with exceedingly small eyes, that burrows under ground, lives in the dark, and subsists on roots. The bat lives in o d ruins, and behind the bark of trees, and flies only in the night. They “resemble” each other, and are used here in connection, because “both” dwell amidst ruins and in obscure places; both are regarded as animals of the lowest order; both are of the same genus, and both are almost blind. The sense is, therefore, that the idols which had before been so highly venerated, would now be despised, and cast into obscure places, and amidst ruins, as worthless; see Bochart’s “Hieroz.,” P. i., Lib. iii., p. 1032. Ed. 1663. And to the bats - ‘The East may be termed the country of bats; they hang by hundreds and thousands in caves, ruins, and under the roofs of large buildings. To enter such places, especially after rain, is “most” offensive. […]
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּיּ֤וֹם | baiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַהוּא֙ | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יַשְׁלִ֣יךְ | yashlikh | it will throw away | H7993 → | 125 times |
| הָאָדָ֔ם | haadam | <the> humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלִילֵ֣י | ʾelilei | [the] idols of | H457 → | 20 times |
| כַסְפּ֔וֹ | khaspo | silver its | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וְאֵ֖ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלִילֵ֣י | ʾelilei | [the] idols of | H457 → | 20 times |
| זְהָב֑וֹ | zehavo | gold its | H2091 → | 389 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָֽשׂוּ־ | ʾasu- | they made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | for himself | ||
| לְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֔ת | lehishtachavot | to bow down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| לַחְפֹּ֥ר | lachpor | to [the] digging of | H2661 → | |
| פֵּר֖וֹת | perot | moles | H6512 → | |
| וְלָעֲטַלֵּפִֽים׃ | velaatalefim | and to the bats | H5847 → |
בַּיּ֤וֹםin the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַהוּא֙<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יַשְׁלִ֣יךְit will throw away
yashlikhH7993 →125 times
הָאָדָ֔ם<the> humankind
haadamH120 →551 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֱלִילֵ֣י[the] idols of
ʾelileiH457 →20 times
כַסְפּ֔וֹsilver its
khaspoH3701 →403 times
וְאֵ֖תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אֱלִילֵ֣י[the] idols of
ʾelileiH457 →20 times
זְהָב֑וֹgold its
zehavoH2091 →389 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָֽשׂוּ־they made
ʾasu-H6213 →2628 times
לוֹ֙for himself
lo
לְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֔תto bow down
lehishtachavotH7812 →172 times
לַחְפֹּ֥רto [the] digging of
lachporH2661 →
פֵּר֖וֹתmoles
perotH6512 →
וְלָעֲטַלֵּפִֽים׃and to the bats
velaatalefimH5847 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 14:8O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.
it leads to
- Job 34:32
Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Job 34:32
Through
Isaiah 31:7For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.
it leads to
- Isaiah 30:22
So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”
- Isaiah 30:22
Through
Isaiah 46:1Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:44
I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him spew out what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even the wall of Babylon will fall.
- Isaiah 21:9
Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
- Jeremiah 50:2
“Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced,…
- Jeremiah 51:44
Through
Isaiah 30:22So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”
it leads to
- Isaiah 31:7
For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.
- Judges 17:3–4
And when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I wholly dedicate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit, to make a graven image and…
- Isaiah 31:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.