Isaiah 41:24

24 ecce vos estis ex nihilo et opus vestrum ex eo quod non est abominatio est qui elegit vos

Isaiah 41:24 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 41:24

Behold, ye are of nothing
Not as to the matter of them, for they were made of gold, silver, brass but as to the divinity of them: there was none in them, they were of no worth and value; they could do nothing, either good or evil, either help their friends, or hurt their enemies; yea, they were less than nothing; for the words may be rendered by way of comparison, "behold, ye are less than nothing"; {a}. (See Gill on Isaiah 40:17); and your work of nought;
the workmanship bestowed on them, in casting or carving them, was all to no purpose, and answered no end; or the work they did, or pretended to do, their feigned oracles, and false predictions: or, "worse than nothing": some render it, "worse than a viper" F2; a word like this is used for one, ( Isaiah 49:5 ) and so denotes the poisonous and pernicious effects of idolatry: an abomination is he that chooseth you;
as the object of his worship; he is not only abominable, but an abomination itself to God, and to all men of sense and religion; for the choice he makes of an idol to be his god shows him to be a man void of common sense and reason, and destitute of all true religion and godliness, and must be a stupid sottish creature. The Targum is,

``an abomination is that which ye have chosen for yourselves, or in which ye delight;''
meaning their idols. This is the final issue of the controversy, and the judgment passed both upon the idols and their worshippers.
FOOTNOTES:

F1 (Nyam Mta) "vos minus quam nihil [estis]", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F2 (epam) "pejus [opere] viperae", Junius & Tremellius; "pejus [est opere] basilisci", Piscator.

Isaiah 41:24 In-Context

22 accedant et nuntient nobis quaecumque ventura sunt priora quae fuerint nuntiate et ponemus cor nostrum et sciemus novissima eorum et quae ventura sunt indicate nobis
23 adnuntiate quae ventura sunt in futurum et sciemus quia dii estis vos bene quoque aut male si potestis facite et loquamur et videamus simul
24 ecce vos estis ex nihilo et opus vestrum ex eo quod non est abominatio est qui elegit vos
25 suscitavi ab aquilone et venit ab ortu solis vocabit nomen meum et adducet magistratus quasi lutum et velut plastes conculcans humum
26 quis adnuntiavit ab exordio ut sciamus et a principio ut dicamus iustus es non est neque adnuntians neque praedicens neque audiens sermones vestros
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.