The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
Parallel translations
- WEB The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
- KJV The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
- NKJV The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands.
- NASB The idols of the nations are nothing but silver and gold, The work of human hands.
- NLT The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human 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
The idols of the nations are merely silver and gold made by human hands, lifeless and powerless.
Overview
In sharp contrast to the living God who acts in history, the idols are nothing but crafted metal. The psalmist exposes the folly of worshiping objects that people themselves have manufactured. This polemic against idolatry calls every generation to worship the true Creator alone, who has made Himself known supremely in His Son.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 115:4–8Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- 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.
- Acts 17:29Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
- Jer 10:3–11For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman.
- Hab 2:18–19What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
- Isa 46:6–7They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.
- Isa 44:9–20All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
- Deut 4:28And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
- Isa 40:19–20To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 135:15 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.