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Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
Isaiah 2:8 · King James Version
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.
  • BSB Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their 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, the work of men’s hands.
  • Rev 9:20And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
  • Isa 37:19And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
  • Jer 2:28But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
  • Hos 12:11Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.
  • Acts 17:16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
  • Isa 17:8And 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.
  • 2 Chr 28:2–4For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
  • Isa 44:15–20Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.
  • 2 Chr 28:23–25For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.
  • Jer 11:13For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.
  • Isa 10:10–11As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
  • Ezek 16:23–25And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the LORD GOD;)
  • Hos 13:2And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
  • 2 Chr 33:3–7For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
  • Isa 57:5Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
  • 2 Chr 27:2And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah did: howbeit he entered not into the temple of the LORD. And the people did yet corruptly.
  • Deut 4:28And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
  • Hos 14:3Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
  • Hos 8:6For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 2:8YouTube · 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 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.