Psalms 115:4-8

115:4 Their ¹  idols are made of silver and gold –

they are man-made. ² 

115:5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see,

115:6 ears, but cannot hear,

noses, but cannot smell,

115:7 hands, but cannot touch,

feet, but cannot walk.

They cannot even clear their throats. ³ 

115:8 Those who make them will end up ⁴  like them,

as will everyone who trusts in them.

Psalms 135:15-17

135:15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold,

they are man-made. ⁵ 

135:16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see,

135:17 and ears, but cannot hear.

Indeed, they cannot breathe. ⁶ 

Isaiah 37:19

37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, ⁷  for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. ⁸ 

Isaiah 46:6-7

46:6 Those who empty out gold from a purse

and weigh out silver on the scale ⁹ 

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 not ¹⁰  move from its place.

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

it does not deliver him from his distress.

Habakkuk 2:18-19

2:18 What good ¹¹  is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? ¹² 

What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? ¹³ 

Why would its creator place his trust in it ¹⁴ 

and make ¹⁵  such mute, worthless things?

2:19 The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead ¹⁶  –

he who says ¹⁷  to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’

Can it give reliable guidance? ¹⁸ 

It is overlaid with gold and silver;

it has no life’s breath inside it.

Habakkuk 2:1

2:1 I will stand at my watch post;

I will remain stationed on the city wall. ¹⁹ 

I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me

and can know ²⁰  how I should answer

when he counters my argument. ²¹ 

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ²²  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

[115:4]  ¹ tn The referent of the pronominal suffix is “the nations” (v. 2).

[115:4]  ² tn Heb “the work of the hands of man.”

[115:7]  ³ tn Heb “they cannot mutter in their throats.” Verse 5a refers to speaking, v. 7c to inarticulate sounds made in the throat (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:140-41).

[115:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.”

[135:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “the work of the hands of man.”

[135:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “indeed, there is not breath in their mouth.” For the collocation אַף אֵין (’af ’en, “indeed, there is not”) see Isa 41:26. Another option is to take אַף as “nose” (see Ps 115:6), in which case one might translate, “a nose, [but] they have no breath in their mouths.”

[37:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”

[37:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).

[46:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “the reed,” probably referring to the beam of a scales. See BDB 889 s.v. קָנֶה 4.c.

[46:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.

[2:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “of what value.”

[2:18]  ¹² tn Heb “so that the one who forms it fashions it?” Here כִּי (ki) is taken as resultative after the rhetorical question. For other examples of this use, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.

[2:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “or a metal image, a teacher of lies.” The words “What good is” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line. “Teacher of lies” refers to the false oracles that the so-called god would deliver through a priest. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 126.

[2:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “so that the one who forms his image trusts in it?” As earlier in the verse, כִּי (ki) is resultative.

[2:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to make.”

[2:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who says.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:19]  ¹⁷ tn The words “he who says” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line.

[2:19]  ¹⁸ tn Though the Hebrew text has no formal interrogative marker here, the context indicates that the statement should be taken as a rhetorical question anticipating the answer, “Of course not!” (so also NIV, NRSV).

[2:1]  ¹⁹ sn Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman stationed on the city wall who keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger.

[2:1]  ²⁰ tn The word “know” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “concerning my correction [or, “reproof”].”

[1:4]  ²² tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).