16They have mouths, but they do not speak;
         They have eyes, but they do not see;

17They have ears, but they do not hear,
         Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.

18Those who make them will be like them,
         Yes, everyone who trusts in them.

19O house of Israel, bless the LORD;
         O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;

20O house of Levi, bless the LORD;
         You who revere the LORD, bless the LORD.

21Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
         Who dwells in Jerusalem.
         Praise the LORD!

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, The work of man's hands.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
The idols of the nations are made of silver and gold. They were made by human hands.

King James Bible
The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of men's hands.

Darby Bible Translation
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands:

English Revised Version
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

Webster's Bible Translation
The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

World English Bible
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

Young's Literal Translation
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, Work of the hands of man.

Cross References

Revelation 9:20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

Deuteronomy 4:28 "There you will serve gods, the work of man's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

Psalm 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man's hands.

Psalm 135:16 They have mouths, but they do not speak; They have eyes, but they do not see;

Daniel 5:4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

Habakkuk 2:19 "Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, 'Awake!' To a mute stone, 'Arise!' And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

Verses 15-21

The design of these verses is,

I. To arm the people of God against idolatry and all false worship, by showing what sort of gods they were that the heathen worshipped, as we had it before, Ps. 115:4, etc. 1. They were gods of their own making; being so, they could have no power but what their makers gave them, and then what power could their makers receive from them? The images were the work of men's hands, and the deities that were supposed to inform them were as much the creatures of men's fancy and imagination. 2. They had the shape of animals, but could not perform the least act, no, not of the animal life. They could neither see, nor hear, nor speak, nor so much as breathe; and therefore to make them with eyes, and ears, and mouths, and nostrils, was such a jest that one would wonder how reasonable creatures could suffer themselves to be so imposed upon as to expect any good from such mock-deities. 3. Their worshippers were therefore as stupid and senseless as they were, both those that made them to be worshipped and those that trusted in them when they were made, v. 18. The worshipping of such gods as were the objects of sense, and senseless, made the worshippers sensual and senseless. Let our worshipping a God that is a Spirit make us spiritual and wise.

II. To stir up the people of God to true devotion in the worship of the true God, v. 19-21. The more deplorable the condition of the Gentile nations that worship idols is the more are we bound to thank God that we know better. Therefore, 1. Let us set ourselves about the acts of devotion, and employ ourselves in them: Bless the Lord, and again and again, bless the Lord. In the parallel place (Ps. 115:9-11), by way of inference from the impotency of idols, the duty thus pressed upon us is to trust in the Lord; here to bless him; by putting our trust in God we give glory to him, and those that depend upon God shall not want matter of thanksgiving to him. All persons that knew God are here called to praise him-the house of Israel (the nation in general), the house of Aaron and the house of Levi (the Lord's ministers that attended in his sanctuary), and all others that feared the Lord, though they were not of the house of Israel. 2. Let God have the glory of all: Blessed be the Lord. The tribute of praise arises out of Zion. All God's works do praise him, but his saints bless him; and they need not go far to pay their tribute, for he dwells in Jerusalem, in his church, which they are members of, so that he is always nigh unto them to receive their homage. The condescensions of his grace, in dwelling with men upon the earth, call for our grateful and thankful returns, and our repeated Hallelujahs.

Calvin's Commentary

15. The images of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 16. They have a mouth, and will not speak: they have eyes, and will not see. 17. They have ears, and will not hear; also [167] there is no breath in their mouth. 18. Like be they to them who make them, whosoever trusteth in them. 19. Bless Jehovah, O house of Israel! bless Jehovah, O house of Aaron! 20. Bless Jehovah, O house of Levi! ye that fear Jehovah, bless Jehovah. 21. Blessed be Jehovah out of Zion, who dwelleth at Jerusalem. Hallelujah. [168]

15. The images of the nations, etc. As the whole of this part of the Psalm has been explained elsewhere, it is needless to insist upon it, and repetition might be felt irksome by the reader. I shall only in a few words, therefore, show what is the scope of the Psalmist. In upbraiding the stupidity of the heathen, who thought that they could not have God near them in any other way than by resorting to idol worship, he reminds the Israelites of the signal mercy which they had enjoyed, and would have them abide the more deliberately by the simplicity and purity of God's worship, and avoid profane superstitions. He declares, that idolaters only draw down heavier judgments upon themselves, the more zealous they are in the service of their idols. And there is no doubt, that, in denouncing the awful judgments which must fall upon the worshippers of false gods, it is his object to deter such as had been brought up under the word of God from following their example. In Psalm 115 the exhortation given is to trust or hope in the Lord; here, to bless him. The Levites are mentioned in addition to the house of Aaron, there being two orders of priesthood. Every thing else in the two Psalms is the same, except that, in the last verse:, the Psalmist here joins himself, along with the rest of the Lord's people, in blessing God. He says, out of Zion, for when God promised to hear their prayers from that place, and to communicate from it the rich display of his favor, he thereby gave good ground why they should praise him from it. [169] The reason is stated, that he dwelt in Jerusalem; which is not to be understood in the low and gross sense that he was confined to any such narrow residence; but in the sense, that he was there as to the visible manifestation of his favor, experience showing, that while his majesty is such as to fill heaven and earth, his power and grace were vouchsafed in a particular manner to his own people.

Footnotes:

[167] "Some persons take 'ph as the adverb in the sense of even; as Kimchi; but the context, and also the corresponding passage in Psalm 115:6, show that it has the signification of nose 'yn, because it is followed by ys, has merely the sense of not. (1 Samuel 21:9.) The meaning of this part of the verse is, that the idols of the heathen have not even breath to pass through the mouth and nostrils." -- Phillips. "'ph: I strongly suspect that a passage beginning with this word (noses have they) has fallen out of the text. It is found in one of Kennicotts MSS., and has been added in later times to the Septuagint." -- Jebb's Translation of the Psalms, etc., volume 1.

[168] The hallelujah with which this Psalm in the original text ends, has been transferred by the Septuagint to the title of Psalm 136.

[169] "Quant et quant aussi il donnoit occasion et matiere de luy chanter louanges." -- Fr.

Links

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