Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
Parallel translations
- WEB Their land also is full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.
- KJV Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
- NKJV Their land is also full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made.
- NASB Their land has also been filled with idols; They worship the work of their hands, That which their fingers have made.
- NLT Their land is full of idols; the people worship things they have made with their own hands.
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
Their land is also full of idols, the work of their own hands, which they worship. Self-made gods have replaced the true God.
Overview
The folly of idolatry is sharply highlighted: they bow to objects their own fingers fashioned. This inverts reality, for the Creator is worshiped through created things they made. Scripture consistently exposes idols as powerless, directing worship to God alone, revealed in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Ps 115:4–8Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Rev 9:20Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.
- Isa 37:19They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
- Jer 2:28But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.
- Hos 12:11Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.
- Acts 17:16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.
- Isa 17:8They 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.
- 2 Chr 28:2–4Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even made cast images of the Baals.
- Isa 44:15–20It 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.
- 2 Chr 28:23–25Since Damascus had defeated him, he sacrificed to their gods and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But these gods were the downfall of Ahaz and of all Israel.
- Jer 11:13Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up—the altars to burn incense to Baal—are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
- Isa 10:10–11As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms whose images surpassed those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
- Ezek 16:23–25Woe! Woe to you, declares the Lord GOD. And in addition to all your other wickedness,
- Hos 13:2Now they sin more and more and make for themselves cast images, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. People say of them, “They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves!”
- 2 Chr 33:3–7For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he raised up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. And he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.
- Isa 57:5who burn with lust among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
- 2 Chr 27:2And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done. In addition, he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still behaved corruptly.
- Deut 4:28And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
- Hos 14:3Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
- Hos 8:6For this thing is from Israel—a craftsman made it, and it is not God. It will be broken to pieces, that calf of Samaria.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 2:8 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.