Isaiah 40:20 · KJV
“He that {is} so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree {that} will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, {that} shall not be moved. {is so...: Heb. is poor of oblation}”
— Isaiah 40:20
The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Isaiah 40 — Context
To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
20He that {is} so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree {that} will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, {that} shall not be moved. {is so...: Heb. is poor of oblation}
21Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22{It is} he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof {are} as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: {It is...: or, Him that}
Cross References
Jeremiah 10:3-4
For the customs of the people {are} vain: for {one} cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. {customs...: Heb. statutes, or, ordinances are vanity}
Isaiah 41:7
So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, {and} he that smootheth {with} the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It {is} ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, {that} it should not be moved. {goldsmith: or, founder} {him...: or, the smiting} {saying...: or, saying of the soder, It is good}
Isaiah 46:7
They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, {one} shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
Isaiah 2:8-9
Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
Daniel 5:23
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath {is}, and whose {are} all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
1 Samuel 5:3-4
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon {was} fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
Isaiah 44:13-19
The carpenter stretcheth out {his} rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.