Isaiah 45:16
in Isaiah 45They will all be put to shame and humiliated; the makers of idols will depart together in disgrace.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall be put to shame, yea, confounded, all of them; they shall go into confusion together that are makers of idols.
KJV
They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
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This verse in Isaiah 45
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 14 onwards) Thus says the Lord: The labor of Egypt and the trade of Ethiopia and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides you. Truly you are a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Savior. All of them are put to shame and are confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.
This site's exposition
the makers of idols
on Isaiah 45:16-17
Verse 16 closes the idol theme once more, with “the makers of idols” departing “together in disgrace”. Verse 17 sets Israel against them, “But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation”. The shame the idol makers carry is the shame Israel is promised never to bear.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he shows their exaltation as to the confusion of their enemies: they are all confounded: the nations shall see, and shall be confounded at all their strength (Mic 7:16).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And here, as in many other parts of this prophecy, there is much of Christ and of gospel grace. Prophecies Concerning Cyrus. 1 Thus saith the L ORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:39w-of-66
They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them,....
It is not here and there one more timorous than the rest that shall thus shrink, and give up the cause, but all of them; nay, though they appear in a body, though hand join in hand, and they do all they can to keep one another in countenance, yet they shall go to confusion together.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They shall be ashamed “They are ashamed” - The reader cannot but observe the sudden transition from the solemn adoration of the secret and mysterious nature of God’s counsels in regard to his people, to the spirited denunciation of the confusion of idolaters, and the final destruction of idolatry; contrasted with the salvation of Israel, not from temporal captivity, but the eternal salvation by the Messiah, strongly marked by the repetition and augmentation of the phrase, to the ages of eternity.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They shall be ashamed and confounded - That is, they shall find all their hopes fail, and shall be suffused with shame that they were ever so senseless as to trust in blocks of wood and stone (see the notes at Isa 1:29; Isa 20:5; Isa 30:5; Isa 43:17). They shall go to confusion - They shall all retire in shame and disgrace. That is, when they have gone to supplicate their idols, they shall find them unable to render them any aid, and they shall retire with shame.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בּ֥וֹשׁוּ | booshu | they will be ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| וְגַֽם־ | vegam- | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| נִכְלְמ֖וּ | nikhlemu | they will be put to shame | H3637 → | 38 times |
| כֻּלָּ֑ם | kulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יַחְדָּו֙ | yachdav | alike | H3162 → | 141 times |
| הָלְכ֣וּ | halekhu | they will walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בַכְּלִמָּ֔ה | vakelimah | in <the> ignominy | H3639 → | 30 times |
| חָרָשֵׁ֖י | charashei | craftsmen of | H2796 → | 37 times |
| צִירִֽים׃ | tzirim | images | H6736 → |
בּ֥וֹשׁוּthey will be ashamed
booshuH954 →127 times
וְגַֽם־and also
vegam-H1571 →769 times
נִכְלְמ֖וּthey will be put to shame
nikhlemuH3637 →38 times
כֻּלָּ֑םall of them
kulamH3605 →5413 times
יַחְדָּו֙alike
yachdavH3162 →141 times
הָלְכ֣וּthey will walk
halekhuH1980 →1546 times
בַכְּלִמָּ֔הin <the> ignominy
vakelimahH3639 →30 times
חָרָשֵׁ֖יcraftsmen of
charasheiH2796 →37 times
צִירִֽים׃images
tzirimH6736 →
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
Isaiah 42:17But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be turned back in utter shame.
it leads to
- Psalms 97:7
All worshipers of images are put to shame— those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 1:29
Surely you will be ashamed of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be embarrassed by the gardens that you have chosen.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 97:7
Through
Isaiah 44:9All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:24
Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
- Jeremiah 10:14–15
Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- Isaiah 41:29
See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.
- Isaiah 41:24
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 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); 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.