Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

Isaiah 40:20

To one bereft of an offering who chooses wood that will not rot, who seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple?

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.

KJV

He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

⋯

Commentary

2 voices

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

14 tagged words
OriginalTransliterationMeaningWord study
הַֽמְסֻכָּ֣ןham.su.Kanthe impoverished [person]H5533 →
תְּרוּמָ֔הte.ru.Maha contributionH8641 →
עֵ֥ץ'etzwoodH6086 →
לֹֽא־lo'-[which] notH3808 →
יִרְקַ֖בyir.Kavit will rotH7537 →
יִבְחָ֑רyiv.Charhe choosesH977 →
חָרָ֤שׁcha.Rasha craftsmanH2796 →
חָכָם֙cha.KhamskillfulH2450 →
יְבַקֶּשׁ־ye.va.kesh-he seeksH1245 →
ל֔וֹlofor himself
לְהָכִ֥יןle.ha.Khinto prepareH3559 →
פֶּ֖סֶלPe.selan idolH6459 →
לֹ֥אlo'[which] notH3808 →
יִמּֽוֹט׃yi.Motit will be shakenH4131 →

The walk

Related verses

9 strongest cross-references

The gold bar shows how strongly the cross-reference sources tie the two verses together: a long bar means many compiled references make the connection, a short one means few.

Jeremiah 10:3–4For 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.Isaiah 41:7The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who wields the hammer cheers him who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “It is good.” He nails it down so it will not be toppled.Isaiah 46:7They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.Isaiah 2:8–9Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.Daniel 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.Isaiah 44:14He cuts down cedars or retrieves a cypress or oak. He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.1 Samuel 5:3–4When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.Isaiah 44:13–19The woodworker extends a measuring line; he marks it out with a stylus; he shapes it with chisels and outlines it with a compass. He fashions it in the likeness of man, like man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.1 Samuel 5:3When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.

Featured studies on this passage

The Crossing of the Red Sea — Nicolas Poussin

On Isaiah 40:20

The Exodus — Redemption's Master-Type

Open the study →

The Northern Celestial Hemisphere — Albrecht Dürer

Walks through Isaiah 40

Mazzaroth

Twelve constellation groupings; one biblical word (Job 38:32). Bullinger and Seiss read them as a gospel-arc; modern critics trace their figures to Albumazar, not Adam. The objections below are presented at full strength, and the founder's own slot on the page is his to fill.

Open the study →

Moses with the Ten Commandments — Rembrandt van Rijn

Walks through Isaiah 40

Names of God

God reveals himself by name. Each name given in a specific historical moment, in response to a specific situation. Twenty-eight names along a revelation timeline — from Elohim at creation to YHWH-Shammah at the restored city — closing with Jesus' "I AM."

Open the study →

Gustave Dore, Adam and Eve Are Driven out of Eden (Genesis 3) — the gate closed behind them

Walks through Isaiah 40

The Flesh

Open the study →

The Good Shepherd — Bernhard Plockhorst

Walks through Isaiah 40

The Shepherd

Open the study →

The Star of Bethlehem — Edward Burne-Jones

Walks through Isaiah 40

The Stars

Open the study →

About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Prophet Isaiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Isaiah: the study guide →Read chapter 40 →The featured study →
Continue: Isaiah 40 →