Isaiah 2:20

In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold—the idols they made to worship.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The prophet addresses Judah during a future moment when the LORD rises to shake the earth. The passage describes a time of divine judgment when people will flee to caves and holes in the ground.

The words — יוֹם (yom) means "day" and הוּא (hu') means "that," forming the phrase "in that day" to mark a specific moment of divine intervention. אֱלִילֵי (elilei) denotes "worthless idols," specifically identifying the silver and gold objects crafted by human hands for false worship.

The thread — The abandonment of silver and gold idols recurs in Isaiah 30:22 and Isaiah 31:7, where the same materials and timing are paired with rejection of false gods. The mention of bats connects directly to the unclean creatures enumerated in Leviticus 11:19.

Why it lands — The text states that people will discard their crafted silver and gold idols to moles and bats when divine terror arrives. It requires the reader to acknowledge the immediate collapse of material trust when confronted with sovereign judgment.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

בַּיּ֤וֹםba/i.Yomin the/ day הַהוּא֙ha./Hu'<the>/ that יַשְׁלִ֣יךְyash.Likhit will throw away הָאָדָ֔םha./'a.Dam<the>/ humankind אֵ֚ת'et<obj.>אֱלִילֵ֣י'e.li.Lei[the] idols of כַסְפּ֔וֹkhas.P/osilver/ its וְאֵ֖תve./'Etand/ <obj.>אֱלִילֵ֣י'e.li.Lei[the] idols of זְהָב֑וֹze.ha.V/ogold/ its אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.Sherwhich עָֽשׂוּ־'a.su-they madeלוֹ֙l/ofor/ himselfלְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֔תle./hish.ta.cha.Votto/ bow down לַחְפֹּ֥רla/ch.Porto/ [the] digging of פֵּר֖וֹתpe.Rotmoles וְלָעֲטַלֵּפִֽים׃ve./la./'a.ta.le.Fimand/ to the/ bats

King James Version

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;

Cross-references

Isaiah 30:22 So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”
Isaiah 31:7 For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.
Leviticus 11:19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.
Isaiah 46:1 Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
Isaiah 46:6 They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.
Hosea 14:8 O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.
Philippians 3:7 But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.