Isaiah 44:19
in Isaiah 44And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
KJV
And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
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This verse in Isaiah 44
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
shut their eyes so they cannot see
on Isaiah 44:18-20
They do not comprehend or discern names the idol maker's blindness as a judgment, the language 6:10 first spoke over the nation. Yet no one considers the plain question, Shall I bow down to a block of wood? He feeds on ashes, and his deluded heart has led him astray.
This site's exposition
no one considers in his heart
The idol-maker's own day is retold in his words, bread baked and meat roasted, and still he asks nothing. Detestable is the Law's word for an idol. Theodoret reads this failure to reason as folly, and he holds that only the Spirit promised in verse 3 can deliver it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
If it is a god, [Isaiah] says, the whole of the wood should be divine. Why, therefore, do you burn leftover parts of the wood and avail yourself of the fire to provide for your food, since at one time you bake bread, at another …
(Verse 6 and following) This is what the Lord, the king of Israel and his redeemer, the Lord of hosts, says: I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides me. Who is like me? Let him call and declare, and lay out the order for me, since I established the ancient people: what is coming and what will happen, let them declare to them. Do not be afraid, nor be troubled: from that time I have made you hear and announced it; you are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me, and a creator whom I do not know? All the idols of the nations are worthless, and the things they love do not profit them. They themselves are witnesses to their own worthlessness, for they do not see or understand, so that they may be put to shame. Who formed a god or cast an idol that is profitable for nothing? Look, all his companions shall be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere men. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. The blacksmith takes a tool and works it with the coals; he fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He will be hungry and will become weak, he will not drink water, and he will grow weary. The carpenter extends the rule (or the form), he shapes it on the plane, he forms it with angles, and rounds it off with a compass. And he makes an image of a man, like a handsome man dwelling in a house. He cuts down cedars, he takes an oak, and a tree that stood among the woods. He plants a pine, which the rain nourishes, and it becomes fuel for men. He takes from them, and warms himself; he kindles it, and bakes bread. But the rest of it he made into a god and worshipped; he made an idol and bowed down to it. He burned half of it in the fire and cooked meat on it; he roasted a stew and ate it, and then he was satisfied. He warmed himself and said, 'Ah! […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he shows the blindness of the craftsman: they have not known. Part thereof, of the wood from which the idol was made, now is ashes, for it was burned. Perhaps there is a lie in my right hand, that is, in my working: he …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In short, it is the effect and evidence of the greatest stupidity and sottishness that one could ever imagine rational beings to be guilty of, and shows that man has become worse than the beasts that perish; for they act according to the dictates of sense, but man acts not according to the dictates of reason (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And none considereth in his heart,....
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)
proposed
considereth--literally, "layeth it to heart," (Isa 42:25; Jer 12:11). abomination--the scriptural term for an idol, not merely abominable, but the essence of what is so, in the eyes of a jealous God (1Ki 11:5, 7).
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
And none considereth in his heart - Margin, ‘Setteth to.’ He does not place the subject near his heart or mind; he does not think of it.
The words behind it
27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָשִׁ֣יב | yashiv | he brings | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לִבּ֗וֹ | libo | heart his | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וְלֹ֨א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| דַ֥עַת | daat | knowledge | H1847 → | 92 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תְבוּנָה֮ | tevunah | understanding | H8394 → | 42 times |
| לֵאמֹר֒ | lemor | to say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| חֶצְי֞וֹ | chetzyo | half of it | H2677 → | 125 times |
| שָׂרַ֣פְתִּי | sarafti | I burned | H8313 → | 117 times |
| בְמוֹ־ | vemov- | in | H1119 → | 9 times |
| אֵ֗שׁ | ʾesh | a fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| וְ֠אַף | veaf | and also | H637 → | 134 times |
| אָפִ֤יתִי | ʾafiti | I baked | H644 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גֶּחָלָיו֙ | gechalav | coals its | H1513 → | |
| לֶ֔חֶם | lechem | bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
| אֶצְלֶ֥ה | ʾetzleh | I roasted | H6740 → | |
| בָשָׂ֖ר | vasar | meat | H1320 → | 270 times |
| וְאֹכֵ֑ל | veokhel | so I may eat [it] | H398 → | 810 times |
| וְיִתְרוֹ֙ | veyitro | and [the] remainder of it | H3499 → | 102 times |
| לְתוֹעֵבָ֣ה | letoevah | <into> an abomination | H8441 → | 117 times |
| אֶעֱשֶׂ֔ה | ʾeeseh | will I make? | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לְב֥וּל | levul | to a product of | H944 → | |
| עֵ֖ץ | ʾetz | a tree | H6086 → | 328 times |
| אֶסְגּֽוֹד׃ | ʾesgod | will I prostrate myself? | H5456 → | 5 times |
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָשִׁ֣יבhe brings
yashivH7725 →1056 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
לִבּ֗וֹheart his
liboH3820 →595 times
וְלֹ֨אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
דַ֥עַתknowledge
daatH1847 →92 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תְבוּנָה֮understanding
tevunahH8394 →42 times
לֵאמֹר֒to say
lemorH559 →5305 times
חֶצְי֞וֹhalf of it
chetzyoH2677 →125 times
שָׂרַ֣פְתִּיI burned
saraftiH8313 →117 times
בְמוֹ־in
vemov-H1119 →9 times
אֵ֗שׁa fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
וְ֠אַףand also
veafH637 →134 times
אָפִ֤יתִיI baked
ʾafitiH644 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
גֶּחָלָיו֙coals its
gechalavH1513 →
לֶ֔חֶםbread
lechemH3899 →298 times
אֶצְלֶ֥הI roasted
ʾetzlehH6740 →
בָשָׂ֖רmeat
vasarH1320 →270 times
וְאֹכֵ֑לso I may eat [it]
veokhelH398 →810 times
וְיִתְרוֹ֙and [the] remainder of it
veyitroH3499 →102 times
לְתוֹעֵבָ֣ה<into> an abomination
letoevahH8441 →117 times
אֶעֱשֶׂ֔הwill I make?
ʾeesehH6213 →2628 times
לְב֥וּלto a product of
levulH944 →
עֵ֖ץa tree
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
אֶסְגּֽוֹד׃will I prostrate myself?
ʾesgodH5456 →5 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
Deuteronomy 27:15‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people…
it leads to
- Exodus 34:17
You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.
- Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
- Leviticus 19:4
Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.
- Exodus 34:17
Through
Deuteronomy 32:46he said to them, “Take to heart all these words I testify among you today, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 22:19
Now set your heart and soul to seek the LORD your God. Get started building the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD…
- 1 Chronicles 22:19
Through
1 Kings 11:5Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:7
At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.
- 1 Kings 11:7
Through
Isaiah 45:20Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:5
Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any…
- Isaiah 43:9
All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them, so that others may…
- Isaiah 44:17–20
From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
- Jeremiah 10:5
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on 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; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:44.20; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:44.17 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.