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They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers.
Isaiah 17:8 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands; neither shall they respect that which their fingers have made, either the Asherah poles, or the incense altars.
  • KJV And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
  • NKJV He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.
  • NASB And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made, Even the Asherim and incense altars.
  • NLT They will no longer look to their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or worship at the pagan shrines they have built.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

They will no longer look to the altars and idols their own hands have made, abandoning Asherah poles and incense altars. The remnant forsakes idolatry for true worship.

Overview

The turning to God means a decisive rejection of the false objects of worship they had crafted themselves. The works of human fingers, the Asherim and incense stands, are renounced. This repentance from idolatry is the fruit God seeks, fully realized when sinners turn from idols to serve the living God through Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Isa 30:22So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”
  • Isa 27:9Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
  • Mic 5:13–14I will also cut off the carved images and sacred pillars from among you, so that you will no longer bow down to the work of your own hands.
  • Isa 2:8Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
  • Exod 34:13Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles.
  • 2 Chr 14:5He also removed the high places and incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.
  • Isa 2:18–21and the idols will vanish completely.
  • Zech 13:2And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.
  • Hos 8:4–6They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction.
  • Zeph 1:3“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
  • Isa 44:15It serves as fuel for man. He takes some of it to warm himself, and he kindles a fire and bakes his bread; he even fashions it into a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
  • Isa 1:29Surely you will be ashamed of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be embarrassed by the gardens that you have chosen.
  • Isa 44:19–20And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
  • Hos 14:8O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.
  • Hos 13:1–2When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel. But he incurred guilt through Baal, and he died.
  • 2 Chr 34:4Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
  • 2 Chr 34:6–7Josiah did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them.
  • Ezek 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
  • Hos 10:1–2Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better he made the sacred pillars.
  • Isa 31:6–7Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 17:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 17:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.