20He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot: the skilful workman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.


In Context

17 All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to him as nothing, and vanity.

18 To whom then have you likened God? or what image will you make for him?

19 Hath the workman cast a graven statue? or hath the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?

20 He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot: the skilful workman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.

21 Do you not know? hath it not been heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood the foundations of the earth ?

22 It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.

Isaiah 40:20 in Other Translations

The King James Version of the Holy Bible

40:20He 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.

The New International Version of the Holy Bible

40:20A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.

The American Standard Version of the Holy Bible

40:20He 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.

The Darby Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

40:20He 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.

The English Revised Version of the Holy Bible

40:20He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.

The Webster Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

40:20He 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.

The World English Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

40:20He 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 Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible

40:20He 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.

The American King James Version of the Holy Bible

40:20He that is so impoverished that he has no oblation chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks to him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.