Isaiah 42:17
New International Version
But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.

New Living Translation
But those who trust in idols, who say, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned away in shame.

English Standard Version
They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, “You are our gods.”

Berean Standard Bible
But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be turned back in utter shame.

King James Bible
They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

New King James Version
They shall be turned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.’

New American Standard Bible
They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame, Who trust in idols, Who say to cast metal images, “You are our gods.”

NASB 1995
They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame, Who trust in idols, Who say to molten images, “You are our gods.”

NASB 1977
They shall be turned back and be utterly put to shame, Who trust in idols, Who say to molten images, “You are our gods.”

Legacy Standard Bible
They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame, Who trust in graven images, Who say to molten images, “You are our gods.”

Amplified Bible
Those who trust in carved idols will be turned back, And utterly put to shame, Who say to cast images, “You are our gods.”

Christian Standard Bible
They will be turned back and utterly ashamed — those who trust in an idol and say to a cast image, ‘You are our gods! ’

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They will be turned back and utterly ashamed— those who trust in idols and say to metal-plated images: You are our gods!”

American Standard Version
They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly put to shame, that trust in graven images, that say unto molten images, Ye are our gods.

Contemporary English Version
Everyone who worships idols as though they were gods will be terribly ashamed.

English Revised Version
They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say unto molten images, Ye are our gods.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then those who trust idols and those who say to statues, "You are our gods" will be turned away and put to shame.

Good News Translation
All who trust in idols, who call images their gods, will be humiliated and disgraced."

International Standard Version
Those who trust in carved idols will turn back and be completely disappointed, along with those who say to metal images, 'You are our gods.'"

Majority Standard Bible
But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be turned back in utter shame.

NET Bible
Those who trust in idols will turn back and be utterly humiliated, those who say to metal images, 'You are our gods.'"

New Heart English Bible
"Those who trust in engraved images, who tell molten images, 'You are our gods' will be turned back. They will be utterly disappointed.

Webster's Bible Translation
They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

World English Bible
“Those who trust in engraved images, who tell molten images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back. They will be utterly disappointed.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Removed backward—utterly ashamed, "" Are those trusting in a carved image, "" Those saying to a molten image, “You [are] our gods.”

Young's Literal Translation
Removed backward -- utterly ashamed, Are those trusting in a graven image, Those saying to a molten image, 'Ye are our gods.'

Smith's Literal Translation
They were turned back, they will be ashamed with shame, trusting in the carved image, saying to the molten image, Thou our God.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
They are turned back: let them be greatly confounded, that trust in a graven thing, that say to a molten thing: You are our god.

Catholic Public Domain Version
They have been converted again. Let those who trust in graven idols be greatly confounded, for they say to a molten thing, “You are our god.”

New American Bible
They shall be turned back in utter shame who trust in idols; Who say to molten images, “You are our gods.”

New Revised Standard Version
They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame— those who trust in carved images, who say to cast images, “You are our gods.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, who trust in graven images, who say to molten images, You are our gods.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
They shall turn their back and they shall be ashamed in shame, those who trust on carved images, and they were saying to molten images: "You are our gods!"
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
They shall be turned back, greatly ashamed, That trust in graven images, That say unto molten images: 'Ye are our gods.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But they are turned back: be ye utterly ashamed that trust in graven images, who say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
Audio Bible



Context
A New Song of Praise
16I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them. 17But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be turned back in utter shame.

Cross References
Psalm 97:7
All worshipers of images are put to shame—those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!

Jeremiah 2:27-28
say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Yet in the time of trouble, they say, ‘Rise up and save us!’ / But 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.

Jeremiah 10:14-15
Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them. / They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.

Habakkuk 2:18-19
What 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. / Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”

Deuteronomy 32:21
They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.

2 Kings 17:15
They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.

Isaiah 44:9-11
All 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. / Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing? / Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are only human. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will all be brought to terror and shame.

Isaiah 45:16
They will all be put to shame and humiliated; the makers of idols will depart together in disgrace.

Isaiah 46:6-7
They 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. / They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.

Isaiah 48:5
Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’

Romans 1:21-23
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. / Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, / and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

1 Corinthians 8:4-6
So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. / For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), / yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

1 Corinthians 10:19-20
Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? / No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.

Galatians 4:8
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

Acts 17:29-30
Therefore, 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. / Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.


Treasury of Scripture

They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, You are our gods.

be greatly

Isaiah 1:29
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

Isaiah 44:11
Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.

Isaiah 45:16,17
They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols…

say to

Isaiah 44:17
And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.

Exodus 32:4,8
And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt…

Jump to Previous
Ashamed Confide Covered Disappointed Engraved Gods Graven Greatly Hope Idols Image Images Metal Molten Pictured Removed Shame Shamed Trust Trusting Turned Utter Utterly
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Ashamed Confide Covered Disappointed Engraved Gods Graven Greatly Hope Idols Image Images Metal Molten Pictured Removed Shame Shamed Trust Trusting Turned Utter Utterly
Isaiah 42
1. The office of Christ, graced with meekness and constancy.
5. God's promise unto him.
10. An exhortation to praise God for his Gospel
13. God will manifest himself, and check idolatry
18. He reproves the people of incredulity.














But those who trust in idols
The phrase "those who trust in idols" refers to individuals who place their faith and reliance on man-made objects rather than the one true God. The Hebrew word for "idols" is "אֱלִילִים" (elilim), which often denotes worthless or insignificant things. In the ancient Near Eastern context, idols were physical representations of deities, crafted from materials like wood, stone, or metal. The Bible consistently warns against idolatry, emphasizing that these objects have no power or life. Trusting in idols is seen as a fundamental betrayal of faith in God, who is the Creator and Sustainer of all.

and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’
The term "molten images" comes from the Hebrew "מַסֵּכָה" (massekah), indicating images cast from metal, often gold or silver. These were common in ancient religious practices, where such images were believed to embody the presence of a deity. The declaration "You are our gods!" highlights the misplaced devotion and allegiance of the people. This phrase underscores the folly of attributing divine status to objects crafted by human hands, contrasting sharply with the biblical teaching that God alone is worthy of worship and reverence.

will be turned back in utter shame
The consequence of idolatry is described as being "turned back in utter shame." The Hebrew root for "turned back" is "שׁוּב" (shuv), which can mean to return or to be repelled. This suggests a reversal of fortune or a retreat from their misguided path. "Utter shame" conveys a deep sense of disgrace and humiliation. In the biblical narrative, shame is often associated with the exposure of sin and the realization of one's folly. This phrase serves as a prophetic warning that those who forsake God for idols will ultimately face disgrace and disappointment, as their false gods will fail them in times of need.

(17) They shall be greatly ashamed . . .--Manifestly the winding up of a section. The foretold victories of Cyrus shall bring shame and confusion on the worshippers of the idols which he, the representative of a purer faith, should overthrow.

Verse 17. - They shall be turned back, etc. While the people of God are led by God's hand through new paths, and are illumined with abundant light, and have their difficulties smoothed away from before them. their idolatrous oppressors will be "turned back" or suffer defeat, and be put to shame, finding no help from their idols, whose powerlessness will be openly shown, to the utter confusion of their votaries.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But those who trust
הַבֹּטְחִ֖ים (hab·bō·ṭə·ḥîm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 982: To trust, be confident, sure

in idols
בַּפָּ֑סֶל (bap·pā·sel)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6459: An idol, image

and say
הָאֹמְרִ֥ים (hā·’ō·mə·rîm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to molten images:
לְמַסֵּכָ֖ה (lə·mas·sê·ḵāh)
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4541: A pouring over, fusion of metal, a libation, league, a coverlet

‘You
אַתֶּ֥ם (’at·tem)
Pronoun - second person masculine plural
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

are our gods!’
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃ (’ĕ·lō·hê·nū)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

will be turned
נָסֹ֤גוּ (nā·sō·ḡū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5472: To move away, backslide

back
אָחוֹר֙ (’ā·ḥō·wr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 268: The hinder part, behind, backward, the West

in utter
בֹ֔שֶׁת (ḇō·šeṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1322: Shame, shameful thing

shame.
יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ (yê·ḇō·šū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 954: To pale, to be ashamed, to be disappointed, delayed


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 42:17 Those who trust in engraved images who (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 42:16
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