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Isaiah 44 · the idol-maker
“The Prophet Isaiah”, by Gustave Doré. · Gustave Doré, La Sainte Bible, 1866, plate 120 · public domain
44.9
The Book of Isaiah 44.9 · The makers of idols are nothing44.9The makers of idols are nothing
The satire begins. The prophet turns from the LORD's promises to the people who make idols, and says they are empty, blind and headed for shame.
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יֹצְרֵי־1
yōṣərê-
The makers ofshapers of
פֶסֶל2
p̄esel
idolcarved image
כֻּלָּם3
kullām
all of them
are
תֹּהוּ4
tōhû
nothingemptiness
וַחֲמוּדֵיהֶם5
wa-ḥămûḏêhem
and their treasuresdesired things
בַּל־6
bal-
do not
יוֹעִילוּ7
yôʿîlû
helpthey profit
. וְעֵדֵיהֶם8
wə-ʿēḏêhem
And their witnesses
הֵׄמָּׄהׄ9
hēmmâ
they themselves
בַּל־10
bal-
do not
יִרְאוּ11
yirʾû
seethey see
וּבַל־12
û-ḇal-
and do not
יֵדְעוּ13
yēḏəʿû
knowthey know
, לְמַעַן14
ləmaʿan
so thatfor the sake of
יֵבֹשׁוּ׃15
yēḇōšû
they will be ashamedthey feel shame
. The makers of idols all of them are nothing and their treasures do not help. and their witnesses do not see and do not know, so that they will be ashamed.
The makers of idols all of them are nothing and their treasures do not help. and their witnesses do not see and do not know, so that they will be ashamed.
44.10
The Book of Isaiah 44.10 · Who shapes a god for nothing?44.10Who shapes a god for nothing?
The prophet asks a sharp question about the idol-makers' whole project.
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Who shapes a god or casts an idol to no profit?
The satire opens with a verdict: the makers of idols are tōhû, the word for the formless void in Genesis 1:2. Their “witnesses”, the idols themselves, see nothing and know nothing. The chapter has just had God say “Besides me there is no god” (44:6), and calls Israel “my witnesses” (44:8). The contrast is deliberate: living witnesses against blind ones.