Bible Strands
Isaiah 37:19
They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses the LORD concerning the Assyrian kings' devastation of nations and their idols, immediately preceding a petition for deliverance.
The words — אֱלֹהֵי/הֶ֖ם ('e.lo.hei./Hem) = "gods/their" and בָּ/אֵ֑שׁ (ba./'Esh) = "in the/fire" frame the action of casting idols into flames.
The thread — The motif of idols reduced to material remnants or destroyed appears in Exodus 32:20, 2 Samuel 5:21, and Psalms 115:4.
Why it lands — The text states that foreign deities were merely crafted wood and stone before being consumed, demanding recognition that human industry cannot produce divine power.
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
King James Version
And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
Cross-references
- Exodus 32:20 Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.
- 2 Samuel 5:21 There the Philistines abandoned their idols, and David and his men carried them away.
- Psalms 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Isaiah 10:9 “Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?
- Isaiah 26:14 The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.
- Isaiah 36:18 Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
- Isaiah 40:19 To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?
- Isaiah 41:7 The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who wields the hammer cheers him who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “It is good.” He nails it down so it will not be toppled.
- Isaiah 41:24 Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
- Isaiah 41:29 See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.