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Read the Bible
聖書日本語
イザヤ記 41:24
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalBible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
ye are: Isaiah 41:29, Isaiah 44:9, Isaiah 44:10, Psalms 115:8, Jeremiah 10:8, Jeremiah 10:14, Jeremiah 51:17, Jeremiah 51:18, 1 Corinthians 8:4
of nothing: or, worse than nothing
of nought: or, worse than of a viper
an abomination: Isaiah 66:24, Deuteronomy 7:26, Deuteronomy 27:15, Revelation 17:5
Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 12:21 - cannot profit Isaiah 34:12 - nothing Isaiah 41:11 - as nothing Jeremiah 10:5 - do evil Jeremiah 10:15 - vanity Acts 28:3 - came
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Behold, ye are of nothing,.... Not as to the matter of them, for they were made of gold, silver, brass, c. but as to the divinity of them: there was none in them, they were of no worth and value they could do nothing, either good or evil, either help their friends, or hurt their enemies; yea, they were less than nothing; for the words may be rendered by way of comparison, "behold, ye are less than nothing"; a. :-;
and your work of nought; the workmanship bestowed on them, in casting or carving them, was all to no purpose, and answered no end; or the work they did, or pretended to do, their feigned oracles, and false predictions: or, "worse than nothing": some render it, "worse than a viper" b; a word like this is used for one, Isaiah 49:5 and so denotes the poisonous and pernicious effects of idolatry:
an abomination is he that chooseth you; as the object of his worship; he is not only abominable, but an abomination itself to God, and to all men of sense and religion; for the choice he makes of an idol to be his god shows him to be a man void of common sense and reason, and destitute of all true religion and godliness, and must be a stupid sottish creature. The Targum is,
"an abomination is that which ye have chosen for yourselves, or in which ye delight;''
meaning their idols. This is the final issue of the controversy, and the judgment passed both upon the idols and their worshippers.
a אתם מאין "vos minus quam nihil [estis]", Junius Tremellius, Piscator. b מאפע "pejus [opere] viperae", Junius & Tremellius "pejus [est opere] basilisci", Piscator.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Behold, ye are of nothing - Margin, ‘Worse than nothing.’ This refers to idols; and the idea is, that they were utterly vain and powerless; they were as unable to render aid to their worshippers as absolute nothingness would be, and all their confidence in them was vain and foolish.
And your work - All that you do, or all that it is pretended that you do.
Of nought - Margin, ‘Worse than a viper.’ The word used here in the common Hebrew text (אפע 'epa‛) occurs in no other place. Gesenius supposes that this is a corrupt reading for אפס 'epes (nothing), and so our translators have regarded it, and in this opinion most expositors agree. Hahn has adopted this reading in his Hebrew Bible. The Jewish rabbis suppose generally that the word אפע 'epa‛ is the same word as אפעה 'eph‛eh, a viper, according to the reading in the margin. But this interpretation is contrary to the connection, as well as the ancient versions. The Vulgate and Chaldee render it, ‘Of nought.’ The Syriac renders it, ‘Your works are of the sword.’ This is probably one of the few instances in which there has been a corruption of the Hebrew text (compare Isaiah 40:17; Isaiah 41:12, Isaiah 41:19).
An abomination is he that chooseth you - They who select idols as the object of worship, and offer to them homage, are regarded as abominable by God.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Isaiah 41:24. Your work of naught - "Your operation is less than naught"] For מאפע meepha, read מאפס meephes; so the Chaldee and Vulgate. A manifest error of the text; compare Isaiah 40:17. The rabbins acknowledge no such error, but say that the former word signifies the same with the latter, by a change of the two letters ס samech and ע ain. - Sal. ben Melec in loc.