They have ears, but they do not hear; Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
Parallel translations
- WEB They have ears, but they can’t hear; neither is there any breath in their mouths.
- KJV They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.
- BSB they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths.
- NASB They have ears, but they do not hear, Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
- NLT They have ears but cannot hear, and mouths but cannot breathe.
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
Idols have ears but cannot hear, and have no breath of life in them at all.
Overview
Completing the indictment, the psalmist notes that idols cannot hear prayer and possess no breath, the very mark of life that God alone gives. They are dead things, incapable of relationship or rescue. By contrast, the living God breathes life into His creation and gives the Spirit of life through Jesus Christ.
Cross-references & the web
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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 135:17 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
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