Lectionary Calendar
Friday, September 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible in Basic English

Isaiah 44:10

Whoever makes a god, makes nothing but a metal image in which there is no profit.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Carving;   Idol;   Idolatry;   Vanity;   Thompson Chain Reference - False;   Idol;   Idolatry;   Ignorance;   Self, Ignorance of;   Worship, False;   Worship, True and False;   The Topic Concordance - Idolatry;   Knowledge;   Profit;   Understanding;   Worship;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Idolatry;   Vanity;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Idol, idolatry;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Idol, Idolatry;   Religion;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Idol;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Worshipper;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Exile;   God;   Idol;   Isaiah;   Life;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Election;   Micah, Book of;   Righteousness;   Servant of the Lord;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Nebuchadnezzar;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Form;   Idolatry;   Jeremy, the Epistle of;   Nothing;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Jeremiah, Epistle of;   Judaism;   Names of God;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Who makes a god or casts a metal imagethat benefits no one?
Hebrew Names Version
Who has fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?
King James Version
Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?
English Standard Version
Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?
New American Standard Bible
Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no benefit?
New Century Version
Who made these gods? Who made these useless idols?
Amplified Bible
Who has made a god or cast an idol which is profitable for nothing?
World English Bible
Who has fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?
Geneva Bible (1587)
Who hath made a god, or molten an image, that is profitable for nothing?
Legacy Standard Bible
Who has formed a god or cast a graven image to no profit?
Berean Standard Bible
Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing?
Contemporary English Version
Why make an idol or an image that can't do a thing?
Complete Jewish Bible
Who would fashion a god or cast an image that profits no one anything?
Darby Translation
Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?
Easy-to-Read Version
Who made these false gods? Who covered these useless statues?
George Lamsa Translation
Therefore let them be ashamed, those who make gods or graven and molten images that are profitable for nothing.
Good News Translation
It does no good to make a metal image to worship as a god!
Lexham English Bible
Who would form a god and cast an image of which he cannot profit?
Literal Translation
Who has formed a god, or poured out an image to no profit?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Who shulde now make a god, or fashio an Idol, that is profitable for nothinge?
American Standard Version
Who hath fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Who hath fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?
King James Version (1611)
Who hath formed a God, or moulten a grauen image that is profitable for nothing?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Who dare then make a god, or fashion an image that is profitable for nothing?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
that form a god, and all that grave worthless things:
English Revised Version
Who hath fashioned a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Who fourmyde a god, and yetide an ymage, not profitable to ony thing?
Update Bible Version
Who has fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?
Webster's Bible Translation
Who hath formed a god, or cast a graven image [that] is profitable for nothing?
New English Translation
Who forms a god and casts an idol that will prove worthless?
New King James Version
Who would form a god or mold an image That profits him nothing?
New Living Translation
Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit?
New Life Bible
Who has made a false god or an object of worship that is of no worth?
New Revised Standard
Who would fashion a god or cast an image that can do no good?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Who hath fashioned a GOD, Oran image, hath molten? It cannot profit!
Douay-Rheims Bible
Who hath formed a god, and made a graven thing that is profitable for nothing?
Revised Standard Version
Who fashions a god or casts an image, that is profitable for nothing?
Young's Literal Translation
Who hath formed a god, And a molten image poured out -- not profitable?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit?

Contextual Overview

9 Those who make a pictured image are all of them as nothing, and the things of their desire will be of no profit to them: and their servants see not, and have no knowledge; so they will be put to shame. 10 Whoever makes a god, makes nothing but a metal image in which there is no profit. 11 Truly, all those who make use of secret arts will be put to shame, and their words of power are only words of men: let them all come forward together; they will all be in fear and be put to shame. 12 The iron-worker is heating the metal in the fire, giving it form with his hammers, and working on it with his strong arm: then for need of food his strength gives way, and for need of water he becomes feeble. 13 The woodworker is measuring out the wood with his line, marking it out with his pencil: after smoothing it with his plane, and making circles on it with his instrument, he gives it the form and glory of a man, so that it may be placed in the house. 14 He has cedars cut down for himself, he takes an oak and lets it get strong among the trees of the wood; he has an ash-tree planted, and the rain gives it growth. 15 Then it will be used to make a fire, so that a man may get warm; he has the oven heated with it and makes bread: he makes a god with it, to which he gives worship: he makes a pictured image out of it, and goes down on his face before it. 16 With part of it he makes a fire, and on the fire he gets meat cooked and takes a full meal: he makes himself warm, and says, Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire: 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, even his pictured image: he goes down on his face before it, giving worship to it, and making prayer to it, saying, Be my saviour; for you are my god. 18 They have no knowledge or wisdom; for he has put a veil over their eyes, so that they may not see; and on their hearts, so that they may not give attention.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

1 Kings 12:28, Jeremiah 10:5, Daniel 3:1, Daniel 3:14, Habakkuk 2:18, Acts 19:26, 1 Corinthians 8:4

Reciprocal: Exodus 32:4 - fashioned Deuteronomy 27:15 - maketh 1 Samuel 12:21 - cannot profit 2 Kings 17:16 - molten images 2 Chronicles 25:15 - which could Isaiah 37:19 - no gods Isaiah 40:19 - General Isaiah 41:24 - ye are Isaiah 44:15 - he maketh a god Jeremiah 16:19 - wherein Zechariah 11:17 - idol Acts 14:15 - from

Cross-References

Genesis 44:17
Then he said, Far be it from me to do so: but the man who had my cup will be my servant; and you may go back to your father in peace.
Genesis 44:24
And when we went back to your servant, our father, we gave him an account of my lord's words.
Genesis 44:25
And our father said, Go again and get us a little food.
Genesis 44:33
So now let me be my lord's servant here in place of the boy, and let him go back with his brothers.
Exodus 22:3
But if it is after dawn, he will be responsible.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Who hath formed a god,.... Who ever made one? was such a thing ever known? or can that be a god which is made or formed? who so mad, foolish and sottish, as to imagine he has made a god? or is it possible for a creature to be the maker of a god? or any so stupid as to fancy he had made one? yet such there were, so void of understanding and reason, and even common sense: "or molten a graven image": first melted it, and cast it into a mould, and then graved and polished it, and called it a god?

that is profitable for nothing? or seeing it "is profitable for nothing", as a god; cannot see the persons, nor hear the prayers, nor relieve the distresses of those that worship it; and therefore it must be great folly indeed to make an image for such a purpose, which answers no end.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Who hath formed a god - The Septuagint reads this verse in connection with the close of the previous verse, ‘But they shall be ashamed who make a god, and all who sculpture unprofitable things.’ This interpretation also, Lowth, by a change in the Hebrew text on the authority of a manuscript in the Bodleian library, has adopted. This change is made by reading כי kı̂y instead of מי mı̂y in the beginning of the verse. But the authority of the change, being that of a single MS. and the Septuagint, is not sufficient. Nor is it necessary. The question is designed to be ironical and sarcastic: ‘Who is there,’ says the prophet, ‘that has done this? Who are they that are engaged in this stupid work? Do they give marks of a sound mind? What is, and must be the character of a man that bas formed a god, and that has made an unprofitable graven image?

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 44:10. Isaiah 44:9.


 
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