Isaiah 31:7
in Isaiah 31For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For in that day they shall cast away every man his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.
KJV
For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.
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This verse in Isaiah 31
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For in that day - That is, in the invasion of Sennacherib, and the events that shalt be consequent thereon. Every man shall cast away his idols - (see the note at Isa 30:22; compare the note at Isa 2:20). For a sin - Or rather, the sin which your own hands have made. The sense is, that the making of those idols had been a sin, or sin itself. It had been “the” sin, by way of eminence, which was chargeable upon them.
This site's exposition
so blatantly rebelled
on Isaiah 31:6-7
The oracle turns to Israel’s own heart: "Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled". The alliance is named a revolt against the LORD. The answer is plain: "every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made".
This site's exposition
reject the idols of silver and gold
That day is the invasion of Sennacherib, when the idols of silver and gold gave no help. Albert Barnes reads sinfully made as the sin itself, the making of idols with their own hands counted as the chief guilt of the nation. Isaiah 30:22 promised the same casting away.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 6 onwards) Return, as you have deeply strayed, O children of Israel. For on that day a man will cast away the idols of his silver and the idols of his gold, which your own hands have made for yourselves to sin. And Assur will fall by the sword, not of a man; and a sword, not of a human, will devour him. He will flee not from the face of the sword, and his young men will become forced labor.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he sets out the completion of the counsel: in that day, above: in that day a man shall cast away his idols (Isa 2:20).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
For in that day,....
Sin is the work of our own hands, but in working it we have been working our own ruin, and therefore we must cast it away; and those are strangely wedded to it who will not be prevailed upon to cast it away when they see that otherwise they themselves will be castaways.
They have deeply revolted, with great address as they supposed ( the revolters are profound, Hos. v. 2 ); but the issue will prove that they have revolted dangerously. The stain of their sins has gone deeply into their nature, not to be easily got out, like the blackness of the Ethiopian.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In the day of trial the idols will be found to render no help and will therefore be cast away. Compare as to the future restoration and conversion of Israel simultaneously with the interposition of Jehovah in its defense, Zec 12:9-14; 13:1, 2. for a sin--that is, whereby especially you contracted guilt (1Ki 12:30).
Which your own hands have made unto you for a sin “The sin, which their own hands have made” - The construction of the word חטא chet, sin, in this place is not easy. The Septuagint have omitted it: MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. 2 and Cod. Marchal. in margine, supply the omission by the word ἁμαρτιαν, sin, or ἁμαρτημα, said to be from Aquila’s Version, which I have followed. The learned Professor Schroeder, Institut. Ling. Hebrews p. 298, makes it to be in regimine with ידיכם yedeychem, as an epithet, your sinful hands. The Septuagint render the pronoun in the third person, αἱ χειρες αυτων, their hands; and an ancient MS. has, agreeable to that rendering, להם lahem, to them, for לכם lachem, to you; which word they have likewise omitted, as not necessary to complete the sense.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Return To the One about Whom you have thought deeply how to turn away from Him, now return to Him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִמְאָס֗וּן | yimasun | they will reject ! | H3988 → | 76 times |
| אִ֚ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֱלִילֵ֣י | ʾelilei | [the] idols of | H457 → | 20 times |
| כַסְפּ֔וֹ | khaspo | silver his | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וֶאֱלִילֵ֖י | veelilei | and [the] idols of | H457 → | 20 times |
| זְהָב֑וֹ | zehavo | gold his | H2091 → | 389 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשׂ֥וּ | ʾasu | they have made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָכֶ֛ם | lakhem | for you | ||
| יְדֵיכֶ֖ם | yedeikhem | hands your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| חֵֽטְא׃ | chet' | sin | H2399 → | 33 times |
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםin the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יִמְאָס֗וּןthey will reject !
yimasunH3988 →76 times
אִ֚ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֱלִילֵ֣י[the] idols of
ʾelileiH457 →20 times
כַסְפּ֔וֹsilver his
khaspoH3701 →403 times
וֶאֱלִילֵ֖יand [the] idols of
veelileiH457 →20 times
זְהָב֑וֹgold his
zehavoH2091 →389 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשׂ֥וּthey have made
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
לָכֶ֛םfor you
lakhem
יְדֵיכֶ֖םhands your
yedeikhemH3027 →1618 times
חֵֽטְא׃sin
chet'H2399 →33 times
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
Ezekiel 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- John 3:5
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
- Jeremiah 33:8
And I will cleanse them from all the iniquity they have committed against Me, and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against Me.
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Titus 3:5–6
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
- Hebrews 10:22
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.’
- Job 34:32
Through
Deuteronomy 7:25You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it…
it leads to
- Exodus 32:20
Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink…
- Exodus 32:20
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
- 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…
- Judges 17:3–4
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.