Isaiah 44:11

11 Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are but men; let them all assemble, let them stand forth, they shall be terrified, they shall be put to shame together.

Isaiah 44:11 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 44:11

Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed
Either such who join with them in the worship of the molten graven image, or god formed, when they find it is profitable for nothing; so the Targum,

``behold all their worshippers shall be confounded;''
or their fellow workmen, who took their several parts in making the image, and so must be conscious of the vanity and unprofitableness of it, and ashamed when upbraided with it: and the workmen they are of men;
or, "of Adam" F2; they are the sons of Adam, fallen men, sinful, frail, mortal creatures; they are not so much as of the angels in heaven, but of men on earth, and so very unfit to be makers of a god: let them be gathered together;
workmen and worshippers, as Demetrius, and the craftsmen or shrine makers, with others at Ephesus: let them stand up;
and plead for their gods, and say all they can in the behalf of them: yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together;
the light of the Gospel breaking forth in the ministry of the apostles and others, the minds of many were enlightened to see the folly of worshipping idols, which brought them, and the makers of them, into contempt; who not being able to withstand the evidence and force of arguments brought against them, were covered with shame, and filled with fear, lest, should the Gospel still get further ground, their trade of idol making would come to nothing; or lest the vengeance of heaven should fall upon them for their idolatrous practices.
FOOTNOTES:

F2 (Mdam hmh) "ipsi ex Adamo, sive ex hominibus", Munster, Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version.

Isaiah 44:11 In-Context

9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.
10 Who fashions a god or casts an image, that is profitable for nothing?
11 Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are but men; let them all assemble, let them stand forth, they shall be terrified, they shall be put to shame together.
12 The ironsmith fashions it and works it over the coals; he shapes it with hammers, and forges it with his strong arm; he becomes hungry and his strength fails, he drinks no water and is faint.
13 The carpenter stretches a line, he marks it out with a pencil; he fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.