Isaiah 2 · Verse 20

Isaiah 2:20

In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
Isaiah 2:20, King James Version

Isaiah 2:20 in other translations

BSBIn that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold— the idols they made to worship.
WEBIn that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,
ASVIn that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
YLTIn that day doth man cast his idols of silver, And his idols of gold, That they have made for him to worship, To moles, and to bats,
DARBYIn that day men shall cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made each for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
BBEIn that day men will put their images of silver and of gold, which they made for worship, in the keeping of the beasts of the dark places;
WebsterIn that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

What does Isaiah 2:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
20. moles--Others translate "mice." The sense is, under ground, in darkness. bats--unclean birds (Le 11:19), living amidst tenantless ruins (Re 11:13).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 Which they made each one for himself to worship "Which they have made to worship" - The word לו lo, for himself, is omitted by two ancient MSS., and is unnecessary. It does not appear that any copy of the Septuagint has it, except MS. Pachom, and MS. 1. D. II., and they have ἑαυτοις, להם lahem, to themselves. To the moles - They shall carry their idols with them into the dark caverns, old ruins, or desolate places, to which they shall flee for refuge; and so shall give them up, and relinquish them to the filthy animals that frequent such places, and have taken possession of them as their proper habitation. Bellonias, Greaves, P. Lucas, and many other travelers, speak of bats of an enormous size, as inhabiting the Great Pyramid. See Harmer, Obs., vol. ii., 455. Three MSS. express חפרפרות chapharperoth, the moles as one word.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 2:10-22

The taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans seems first meant here, when idolatry among the Jews was done away; but our thoughts are led forward to the destruction of all the enemies of Christ. It is folly for those who are pursued by the wrath of God, to think to hide or shelter themselves from it. The shaking of the earth will be terrible to those who set their affections on things of the earth. Men's haughtiness…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 2:10-22 →

Isaiah 2:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

בַּיּ֤וֹםbai.Yomin the dayH3117
הַהוּא֙ha.Hu'<the> thatH1931
יַשְׁלִ֣יךְyash.Likhit will throw awayH7993
הָאָדָ֔םha.'a.Dam<the> humankindH120
אֵ֚ת'et<obj.>H853
אֱלִילֵ֣י'e.li.Lei[the] idols ofH457
כַסְפּ֔וֹkhas.Posilver itsH3701
וְאֵ֖תve.'Etand <obj.>H853
אֱלִילֵ֣י'e.li.Lei[the] idols ofH457
זְהָב֑וֹze.ha.Vogold itsH2091
אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.SherwhichH834
עָֽשׂוּ\־'a.su-they madeH6213
לוֹ֙lofor himself
לְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֔תle.hish.ta.cha.Votto bow downH7812
לַחְפֹּ֥רlach.Porto [the] digging ofH2661
פֵּר֖וֹתpe.RotmolesH6512
וְלָעֲטַלֵּפִֽים\׃ve.la.'a.ta.le.Fimand to the batsH5847

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 2:20

  • Isaiah 30:22

    Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

  • Isaiah 31:7

    For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

  • Philippians 3:7-8

    But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

  • Hosea 14:8

    Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.

  • Isaiah 46:6

    They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.

  • Leviticus 11:19

    And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

  • Isaiah 46:1

    Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
cast.
30:22; 31:7; 46:1; Ho 14:8; Php 3:7,8
his idols of silver. Heb. the idols of his silver, etc.
46:6
each one for himself to. or, for him to.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 2:19

    And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

  • Isaiah 2:20

    In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

  • Isaiah 2:21

    To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Read all of Isaiah 2

Isaiah 2:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Aquel día arrojará el hombre, á los topos y murciélagos, sus ídolos de plata y sus ídolos de oro, que le hicieron para que adorase;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		En ce jour-là, l’homme jettera ses idoles d’argent et ses idoles d’or, qu’il s’était faites pour se prosterner devant elles, aux rats et aux chauves-souris,
German
Elberfelder 1871		An jenem Tage wird der Mensch seine Götzen von Silber und seine Götzen von Gold, die man ihm zum Anbeten gemacht hat, den Maulwürfen und den Fledermäusen hinwerfen,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		In die illa projiciet homo idola argenti sui, et simulacra auri sui, quæ fecerat sibi ut adoraret, talpas et vespertiliones.