Isaiah 44:11

11 Behold, all his companions will be 1put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.

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 Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.
10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit?
11 Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.
12 The man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary.
13 Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, so that it may sit in a house.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Psalms 97:7; Isaiah 42:17; Isaiah 44:9; Isaiah 45:16
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