Psalms 135:18
in Psalms 135Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them.
KJV
They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 135
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe worshipping of such gods as were the objects of sense, and senseless, made the worshippers sensual and senseless. Let our worshipping a God that is a Spirit make us spiritual and wise. To stir up the people of God to true devotion in the worship of the true God,
This site's exposition
The idols of the nations
on Psalms 135:15-18
Spurgeon called the idols dead metal, silver and gold shaped by the hands that worship them. This list stops at the ears and adds that there is no breath, where Psalm 115:6 and 7 go to noses, hands, feet and throats. Breath here is ruach, the wind of verse 7.
This site's exposition
Those who make them become like them
Verse 18 repeats Psalm 115:8. Jeremiah 2:5 and 2 Kings 17:15 give the same rule in Israel's history, where those who went after worthless idols became worthless themselves. Verses 19 to 21 set the other side, the houses who bless the LORD.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And man, you laugh doubtless at what you have made, if you know by whom you are made. But of them who know not, what is said? "All they who make them, and all they who trust in them, are like them" [Psalm 135:18]. And ye believe, brethren, that there is a likeness to these idols expressed not in their flesh, but in their inner man. For "they have ears, and hear not." God calls to them indeed, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." [Matthew 11:15] They have eyes, and see not, for they have the eyes of the body, and not the eyes of faith. Lastly, this prophecy is fulfilled among all the nations....Is it not fulfilled? Is it not seen, as it is written? And they who remain have eyes, and see not; have nostrils, and smell not. They perceive not that savour. "We are a good savour of Christ," [2 Corinthians 2:15] as the apostle says everywhere. What profits it, that they have nostrils, and smell not that so sweet savour of Christ? Truly it is done in them, and truly it is said of them, "All they who make them," etc.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They that make them are like unto them,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They that make them are like unto them. they are as blockish, as senseless, as stupid as the gods they have made, and, like them they are the objects of divine abhorrence, and shall be broken in pieces in due time. So is every one that trusteth in them. The idol worshippers are as bad as the idol makers; for if there were none to worship, there would be no market for the degrading manufacture. Idolaters are spiritually dead, they are the mere images of men, their best being is gone, they are not what they seem. Their mouths do not really pray, their eyes see not the truth, their ears hear not the voice of the Lord, and the life of God is not in them. Those who believe in their own inventions in religion betray great folly, and an utter absence of the quickening Spirit. Gracious men can see the absurdity of forsaking the true God and setting up rivals in his place; but those who perpetrate this crime think not so: on the contrary, they pride themselves upon their great wisdom, and boast of "advanced thought" and "modern culture." Others there are who believe in a baptismal regeneration which does not renew the nature, and they make members of Christ and children of God who have none of the spirit of Christ, or the signs of adoption. May we be saved from such mimicry of divine work lest we also become like our idols.
They that make them are like unto them. they are as blockish, as senseless, as stupid as the gods they have made, and, like them they are the objects of divine abhorrence, and shall be broken in pieces in due time. So is every one that trusteth in them. The idol worshippers are as bad as the idol makers; for if there were none to worship, there would be no market for the degrading manufacture. Idolaters are spiritually dead, they are the mere images of men, their best being is gone, they are not what they seem.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּ֭מוֹהֶם | kemohem | like them | H3644 → | 143 times |
| יִהְי֣וּ | yihyu | they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֹשֵׂיהֶ֑ם | ʾoseihem | [those who] make them | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כֹּ֭ל | kol | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [one] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בֹּטֵ֣חַ | boteach | [is] trusting | H982 → | 120 times |
| בָּהֶֽם׃ | bahem | in them |
כְּ֭מוֹהֶםlike them
kemohemH3644 →143 times
יִהְי֣וּthey will be
yihyuH1961 →3559 times
עֹשֵׂיהֶ֑ם[those who] make them
ʾoseihemH6213 →2628 times
כֹּ֭לevery
kolH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁר־[one] who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בֹּטֵ֣חַ[is] trusting
boteachH982 →120 times
בָּהֶֽם׃in them
bahem
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
2 Corinthians 4:4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
it leads to
- John 12:40
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”
- 2 Corinthians 3:14
But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.
- Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
- Isaiah 6:10
Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
- 1 John 5:19
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
- John 12:40
Through
Psalms 97:7All worshipers of images are put to shame— those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:14
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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 10:14
Through
Psalms 115:8Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:8
But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
- Habakkuk 2:18–19
What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
- Jeremiah 10:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 135; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.