Exodus 32:8

Context
32:8 They have quickly turned aside¹ from the way that I commanded them – they have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”

Leviticus 19:4

Context
19:4 Do not turn to idols,² and you must not make for yourselves gods of cast metal. I am the Lord your God.

Isaiah 46:6-7

Context

46:6 Those who empty out gold from a purse

and weigh out silver on the scale³

hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.

They then bow down and worship it.

46:7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;

they put it in its place and it just stands there;

it does not⁴ move from its place.

Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;

it does not deliver him from his distress.

Jeremiah 10:14

Context

10:14 All these idolaters⁵ will prove to be stupid and ignorant.

Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made.

For the image he forges is merely a sham.⁶

There is no breath in any of those idols.⁷

Acts 17:29

Context
17:29 So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity⁸ is like gold or silver or stone, an image⁹ made by human¹⁰ skill¹¹ and imagination.¹²

Acts 19:26

Context
19:26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded¹³ and turned away¹⁴ a large crowd,¹⁵ not only in Ephesus¹⁶ but in practically all of the province of Asia,¹⁷ by saying¹⁸ that gods made by hands are not gods at all.¹⁹

[32:8] ¹tn The verb is a perfect tense, reflecting the present perfect nuance: “they have turned aside” and are still disobedient. But the verb is modified with the adverb “quickly” (actually a Piel infinitive absolute). It has been only a matter of weeks since they heard the voice of God prohibiting this.

[19:4] ²sn Regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” (אֱלִילִים, ’elilim), see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 126; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 304; N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NBC), 89; and Judith M. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:411. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with אֵל (’el, “god; God”) and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless; weak; powerless; nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”

[46:6] ³tn Heb “the reed,” probably referring to the beam of a scales. See BDB 889 s.v. קָנֶה 4.c.

[46:7] ⁴tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.

[10:14] ⁵tn Heb “Every man.” But in the context this is not a reference to all people without exception but to all idolaters. The referent is made explicit for the sake of clarity.

[10:14] ⁶tn Or “nothing but a phony god”; Heb “a lie/falsehood.”

[10:14] ⁷tn Heb “There is no breath in them.” The referent is made explicit so that no one will mistakenly take it to refer to the idolaters or goldsmiths.

[17:29] ⁸tn Or “the divine being.” BDAG 446 s.v. θεῖος 1.b has “divine being, divinity” here.

[17:29] ⁹tn Or “a likeness.” Again idolatry is directly attacked as an affront to God and a devaluation of him.

[17:29] ¹⁰tn Grk “by the skill and imagination of man,” but ἀνθρώπου (anqrwpou) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[17:29] ¹¹tn Or “craftsmanship” (cf. BDAG 1001 s.v. τέχνη).

[17:29] ¹²tn Or “thought.” BDAG 336 s.v. ἐνθύμησις has “thought, reflection, idea” as the category of meaning here, but in terms of creativity (as in the context) the imaginative faculty is in view.

[19:26] ¹³tn Grk “persuading.” The participle πείσας (peisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:26] ¹⁴tn Or “misled.”

[19:26] ¹⁵tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.a has “of pers. ὄχλος a large crowd…Ac 11:24, 26; 19:26.”

[19:26] ¹⁶map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[19:26] ¹⁷tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

[19:26] ¹⁸tn The participle λέγων (legwn) has been regarded as indicating instrumentality.

[19:26] ¹⁹tn The words “at all” are not in the Greek text but are implied.