Isaiah 40:19

19 An image made by a craftsman, which a goldsmith overlays with gold, for which he then casts silver chains?

Isaiah 40:19 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 40:19

The workman melteth a graven image
Or, "the founder"; he melts some sort of metal, as iron, brass, copper, or lead, which he casts into a mould for an image, and afterwards graves, or gets it graved: and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold;
or, "the finer"; he stretches out plates of gold, and covers it with them, so that it looks as if it was made of solid gold, and deceives the eyes of men; such stupidity and vanity are there in mortals to believe that there can be deity in such a piece of workmanship! and casteth silver chains to put about the graven image,
either for ornament, or rather to fasten it to some wall or pillar, that it may stand upright, and may not be taken down and stole away, or blown down with the wind, or fall of itself and be broken; thus ridiculing the weakness of these idols, and the folly of the makers and worshippers of them. The Targum is,

``the silversmith joins silver chains to it.''

Isaiah 40:19 In-Context

17 Before him all the nations are like nothing. He regards them as less than nothing.

18 With whom, then, will you compare God? By what standard will you evaluate him?

19 An image made by a craftsman, which a goldsmith overlays with gold, for which he then casts silver chains?

20 A man too poor to afford an offering chooses a piece of wood that won't rot, then seeks out a skilled artisan to prepare an image that won't fall over.

21 Don't you know? Don't you hear? Haven't you been told from the start? Don't you understand how the earth is set up?