Isaiah 40:20

He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot: the skilful workman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.

Douay-Rheims 1899

In The King James Version

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.

In Context

19Hath the workman cast a graven statue? or hath the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?

21Do you not know? hath it not been heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood the foundations of the earth ?

Read all of Isaiah 40

Cross References

Isaiah 2:8And their land is filled with horses: and their chariots are innumerable. Their land also is full of idols: they have adored the work of their own hands, which their own fingers have made.

Isaiah 44:13The carpenter hath stretched out his rule, he hath formed it with a plane: he hath made it with corners, and hath fashioned it round with the compass: and he hath made the image of a man as it were a beautiful man dwelling in a house.

Jeremiah 10:3For the laws of the people are vain: for the works of the hand of the workman hath cut a tree out of the forest with an axe.

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 40:19-27

Vanity of Idols. ( b. c. 708.) 18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 20 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. 21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

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