Isa 44:9-20 | NASB2020 | STEP | Those who fashion an idol are all futile , and their treasured things are of no benefit ; even their own witnesses fail to see or know , so that they will be put to shame .

Isaiah 44:9-20

The Foolishness of Idolatry

9 Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be ^aput to shame. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to ^bno benefit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be ^cput to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.

12 The ^dcraftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, ^{▼▼Lit and fashions}fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and ^{▼▼Lit there is no strength}his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 ^gThe craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ^hmankind, so that it may sit in a ⁱhouse. 14 He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also ^jmakes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and ^kbows down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 Yet the rest of it he ^lmakes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also ^mprays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

18 They do not ⁿknow, nor do they understand, for He has ^osmeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one ^{▼▼Lit returns to his heart}remembers, nor is there ^qknowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then ^{▼▼Or shall I make?}I make the rest of it into an ^sabomination, ^{▼▼Or shall I bow...?}I bow down before a block of wood!” 20 He ^{▼▼Or is a companion of ashes
,} ^vfeeds on ashes; a ^wdeceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save ^{▼▼Lit his soul}himself, nor say, “ ^yIs there not a lie in my right hand?”