Parallel Verses
Amplified
He who is too impoverished for such an offering [to give to his god]
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To [carve and] set up an idol that will not totter.
New American Standard Bible
Selects a
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To
King James Version
He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
Holman Bible
choosing wood that does not rot?
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not fall over.
International Standard Version
To the impoverished person? He prepares an offering wood that won't rot Or to the one who chooses a skilled craftsman and seeks to erect an idol that won't topple?"
A Conservative Version
He who is too impoverished for [such] an oblation chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks for him a skilful workman to set up a graven image that shall not be moved.
American Standard Version
He that is too impoverished for'such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.
Bible in Basic English
The wise workman makes selection of the mulberry-tree of the offering, a wood which will not become soft; so that the image may be fixed to it and not be moved.
Darby Translation
He that is impoverished, so that he hath no offering, chooseth a tree that doth not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilled workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved.
Julia Smith Translation
And he being poor of oblation will choose wood that will not be rotten; he will seek to him a wise artificer to prepare a carved image that will not shake.
King James 2000
He that is so impoverished that he has no offering chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks unto him a skillful workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not move.
Lexham Expanded Bible
The one who is [too] impoverished [for] a gift chooses wood [that] will not rot; he seeks a skillful artisan for himself to set up an image [that] will not be knocked over.
Modern King James verseion
He too poor for that offering chooses a tree that will not rot; he looks for a skillful workman to prepare a graven image that will not totter.
Modern Spelling Tyndale-Coverdale
Moreover, shall the image maker, that the poor man which is disposed may have something to set up also, seek out and choose a tree, that is not rotten, and carve thereout an image, that moveth not?
NET Bible
To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make an idol that will not fall over.
New Heart English Bible
He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up an engraved image for him that will not be moved.
The Emphasized Bible
The needy offerer, of a tree that will not rot, maketh choice, - A skilled artificer, seeketh he out for himself to construct an image that shall not totter,
Webster
He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh for himself a skillful workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved.
World English Bible
He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up an engraved image for him that will not be moved.
Youngs Literal Translation
He who is poor by heave-offerings, A tree not rotten doth choose, A skilful artisan he seeketh for it, To establish a graven image -- not moved.
Themes
Trees » Were cut down » For making idols
Topics
Interlinear
T@ruwmah
Bachar
Baqash
Chakam
Charash
Word Count of 20 Translations in Isaiah 40:20
Verse Info
Context Readings
Comfort For God's People
19
As for the cast image (idol), a metalworker casts it,
A goldsmith overlays it with gold
And a silversmith casts its silver chains.
He who is too impoverished for such an offering [to give to his god]
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To [carve and] set up an idol that will not totter.
Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]?
Names
Cross References
1 Samuel 5:3-4
When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.
Isaiah 41:7
So the craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
And he who smooths metal with the smith’s hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering (welding), “That is good”;
And he fastens the idol with nails,
So that it will not totter nor be moved.
Isaiah 46:7
“They lift it on their shoulders [in religious processions or into battle] and carry it;
They set it in its place and there it remains standing.
It cannot move from its place.
Even if one cries to it [for help], the idol cannot answer;
It cannot save him from his distress.
Jeremiah 10:3-4
For the customs and decrees of the peoples are [mere] delusion [exercises in futility];
It is only wood which one cuts from the forest [to make a god],
The work of the hands of the craftsman with the axe or cutting tool.
Isaiah 2:8-9
Their land has also been filled with idols;
They worship the work of their hands,
That which their own fingers have made.
Daniel 5:23
And you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of His house have been brought before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But the God who holds in His hand your breath of life and your ways you have not honored and glorified [but have dishonored and defied].
Isaiah 44:13-19
The carpenter stretches out a measuring line, he marks out the shape [of the idol] with red chalk; he works it with planes and outlines it with the compass; and he makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, that it may sit in a house.