Isaiah 44:11

11 The workmen who made them will be ashamed, because they are only human. If they all would come together, they would all be ashamed and afraid.

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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Isaiah 44:11 In-Context

9 Some people make idols, but they are worth nothing. People treasure them, but they are useless. Those people are witnesses for the statues, but those people cannot see. They know nothing, so they will be ashamed.

10 Who made these gods? Who made these useless idols?

11 The workmen who made them will be ashamed, because they are only human. If they all would come together, they would all be ashamed and afraid.

12 One workman uses tools to heat iron, and he works over hot coals. With his hammer he beats the metal and makes a statue, using his powerful arms. But when he becomes hungry, he loses his power. If he does not drink water, he becomes tired.

13 Another workman uses a line and a compass to draw on the wood. Then he uses his chisels to cut a statue and his calipers to measure the statue. In this way, the workman makes the wood look exactly like a person, and this statue of a person sits in the house.