Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 41:29
Behold, they [are] all vanity; their works [are] nothing: their molten images [are] wind and confusion.
29. The last word of the argument.
all of them (R.V.)] idols and worshippers together.
their works ] are the images of the gods, “the work of men’s hands” (parallel to “molten images” below).
confusion ] “nothingness” chaos (see ch. Isa 40:17).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Behold, they are all vanity – They are unable to predict future events; they are unable to defend their friends, or to injure their enemies. This is the conclusion of the trial or debate (notes, Isa 41:1), and that conclusion is, that they were utterly destitute of strength, and that they were entirely unworthy of confidence and regard.
Their molten images – (See the note at Isa 40:19).
Are wind – Have no solidity or power. The doctrine of the whole chapter is, that confidence should be reposed in God, and in him alone. He is the friend of his people, and he is able to protect them. He will deliver them from the hand of all their enemies; and he will be always their God, protector, and guide. The idols of the pagan have no power; and it is folly, as well as sin, to trust in them, or to suppose that they can aid their friend.
It may be added, also, that it is equally vain to trust in any being for salvation but God. He only is able to protect and defend us; and it is a source of unspeakable consolation now, as it was in times past, that he is the friend of his people; and that, in times of deepest darkness and distress, he can raise up deliverers, as he did Cyrus, and will in his own way and time rescue his people from all their calamities.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
They are all vanity: this is the conclusion of the whole dispute, and the just sentence which God passeth upon idols after a fair trial; they are vain things, and are falsely called gods. Their works are nothing: see Isa 41:24.
Their molten images; which he mentions, because their materials were most precious, and more cost and art was commonly bestowed upon them; for after they had been molten, they used to be carved, or polished, and adorned: but under these he synecdochichally comprehends all images whatsoever.
Are wind; empty and unsatisfying things, which also, like the wind, do quickly pass away, and come to nothing. And confusion; confused, and deformed, and useless things, like that rude heap in the beginning of Gods creation, of which this very word is used, Gen 1:2.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
29. confusion“emptiness”[BARNES].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold, they are all vanity,…. Both the idols and the worshippers of them; in vain they claim the title of deity, to which they have no right; and in vain do men worship them, since they receive no benefit by them:
their works are nothing; they can do nothing, neither good nor evil; nothing is to be hoped or feared from them, and the worship given them is of no avail; nothing is got by it; it is all useless and insignificant, yea, pernicious and harmful:
their molten images are wind and confusion: though they are made of cast metal, yet setting aside the costly matter of which they are made, they are of no more solidity, efficacy, and use, than the wind; and are like the chaos of the first earth, mere “tohu” and “bohu”, one of which words is here used, without form and void, having no form of deity on them; and therefore men are directed to turn themselves from them, and behold a most glorious Person, worthy of worship and praise, described in the beginning of the next chapter, “behold my servant”, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This closing declaration of Jehovah terminates with similar words of wrath and contempt to those with which the judicial process ended in Isa 41:24. “See them all, vanity; nothingness are their productions, wind and desolation their molten images.” are not the works of the idols, but, as the parallel shows, the productions (plural, as in Eze 6:6; Jer 1:16) of the idolaters – in other words, the idols themselves – a parallel expression to (from , as in Isa 48:5 = m assekhah , Isa 42:17). is an emotional asyndeton (Ges. 155, 1, a). The address is thus rounded off by returning to the idolaters, with whom it first started. The first part, vv. 1-24, contains the judicial pleadings; the second part, Isa 41:25., recapitulates the evidence and the verdict.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
29. Behold, they are all vanity. After having spoken of idols, he makes the same statement as to their worshippers; as it is also said,
“
They who make them, and all that trust in them, are like them.” (Psa 115:8.)
Thus he shews that all superstitious persons are full of “vanity,” and have no judgment or reason. They cannot, indeed, believe this; for, inflated with pride, they look upon themselves as men of the highest ability, and despise us as stupid and ignorant of the affairs of men, when compared with themselves. With what pride do the Papists and their learned doctors scorn us! With what haughtiness did the Romans in ancient times despise the Jews! But we need not spend time on such pride, for in this passage God condemns them all for “vanity.”
Their works are a failure. He gives the name of “works” both to the images which superstitious men make for themselves, and to all false worship, which has no end or measure, and in which every person desires to be a master and teacher of religion. He pronounces all of them to be a “failure,” that is, of no value. He declares this still more plainly, when he says, that they are wind and chaos, that is, confusion; for I explain תהו (tohu) in the same sense that it has in the first chapter of Genesis, where Moses says that
“
the earth was at first shapeless and confused.” (Gen 1:2.)
This passage against idolaters ought to be carefully studied; for they think that images were appointed to preserve religion, and that minds are kindled by the sight of them, as by the visible presence of God. They think that they are the books of the ignorant and unlearned, who cannot be instructed by the reading of the Scriptures. But the Spirit of God here declares that it is a confused and shapeless thing, that is, because it disturbs and retains in superstition the minds of men; and indeed all true knowledge that exists among men is choked and quenched by this worship of idols. In short, he teaches that all images, and the homage that is paid to them, and they who have made and follow them, are mere vanity, and that we may safely condemn them.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(29) They are all . . . their works . . .The first pronoun refers to the idols themselves, the second to the idolaters who make them. In confusion we have the familiar tohu.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 41:29. Behold, they are all vanityconfusion Behold, as to all them they are vanityvanity. This verse contains the conclusion of the whole disputation; collecting from what has gone before, that the idols from whom the Chaldees and others sought the knowledge of future events, were false and vain; neither to be worshipped nor feared; that there was neither in them nor in their worshippers any thing whereupon to depend; deceivers and deceived, helpless, weak, and despicable. See 1Co 8:4 and Vitringa.
REFLECTIONS.1st, We have here,
1. A challenge given to idolaters, to try their cause before God; or, as some suggest, the matter of the controversy here intended is the divine power and godhead of the Redeemer, spoken of in the former chapter, which heretics, ancient and modern, have denied, who are cited to produce their evidence; though the first sense seems most natural. The court is set, the citation sent forth, silence proclaimed, the defendants of idolatry called to plead, and assured of a fair hearing if they dared bring the matter to an tribe. Note; (1.) We may rarely challenge the enemies of the religion of Jesus to do their worst, since their opposition will issue in their greater confusion. (2.) The truths of the Gospel will bear the strictest scrutiny; they who most attentively read their Bibles, and weigh the arguments there advanced, will be unmoved by the wretched cavils of infidelity.
2. He mentions an instance of his glorious power, to which the idols cannot pretend. The righteous man here described is Cyrus; and what should be done hereafter is, in the prophetic language, spoken of as already accomplished. (1.) When God calls us to his foot, we may safely commit ourselves to his guidance, though the way in which he is pleased to lead us be dark, and the issue unknown. (2.) All our enemies must bow before us, when the Lord is our strength and our Redeemer.
3. He represents the vain opposition of the idolaters. He also shews, [1.] The jealousy of the world and the devil against the incroachments of religion. [2.] That the sinner’s heart is often exasperated by the means which were designed for his conversion. Note; How ready the wicked are to unite for purposes of evil! and should the servants of the blessed God be less active in his service?
4. He encourages his Israel to trust him. Thou, Israel, art my servant, and, being owned by him, will be assuredly protected; Jacob, whom I have chosen, separated for God’s service from the world of idolaters, the seed of Abraham my friend, that high and honoured character, and, therefore, beloved for their father’s sake; whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, whither they were dispersed, and said unto thee, thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away, notwithstanding all their provocations. And this is most true also of the spiritual seed, those who yield to be saved by grace, and are faithful to the cause of God.
2nd, To silence the fears, and encourage the faith and hope of God’s people in their distresses, they are called upon to look to the rock which is higher than they.
1. God, their covenant-God, is with them to strengthen, help, and uphold them with the right hand of his righteousness; and then of whom need they be afraid? If he strengthen, what foe can prevail? If he help, what greater support can they need? If he uphold with his right hand, who shall pluck them from it? Note; (1.) If God, by his presence and grace, be continually with us, then in every trial, under every temptation, in the hour of death and the day of judgment, we must be safe. (2.) Faith in the promises is the sovereign antidote against all fear.
2. They shall be victorious over all their foes, to their great joy. Incensed as the enemies of God’s people were against them, seeking with implacable enmity their ruin, confusion shall cover them, and, mighty as they were in power and policy, their strength shall fail, their devices be disappointed, whilst Israel victorious, like a sharp threshing instrument, shall beat them small as the dust, humble the loftiest, and abase the proud, and, scattering them as chaff before the wind, shall rejoice in the great salvation of God herein so gloriously displayed, which may refer literally to the victories of the Maccabees; but spiritually regards the conquests of God’s people over the great enemies of their souls. For, however weak they may be, as worms of Jacob, their Redeemer is mighty; and, though earth and hell without, and corruption within, fright and trouble them, yet their mightiest inbred lusts, as well as their strongest persecutors, God can subdue before them; and a day of joy indeed will it be to see them fall. Note; (1.) Every Christian has a hard warfare to maintain, and there are many adversaries. (2.) Fear is often apt to beset us, when we see ourselves compassed about on every side, and feel how impotent we are to withstand our spiritual enemies. (3.) If God were not in such seasons to speak a word of comfort to our souls, we must utterly faint. (4.) Though the contest be hard, the victory is sure to the faithful soul. (5.) The greater our enemies, the more will the power of God be magnified in our deliverance. (6.) Whatever victories we, through grace, are enabled to obtain, our glorying must be in the Lord, not in ourselves; the work is his, and to him must be ascribed the praise.
3. In their deepest distresses the people shall find him a very present help in trouble. When oppressed with thirst they cry, instantly shall their prayers be heard and answered. From the high places the gushing streams shall burst, in the vallies the fountains shall flow; the very desert shall abound with pools and springs, and every beautiful and spreading tree spring up to shelter them.A work so wonderful, that they would with wonder and surprise own, This hath God done. And this was eminently the case when, by the preaching of the Gospel, the Gentile world heard and turned to the Lord; and such a wondrous change was wrought on the hearts of men, as if the desert had been clothed with trees and pasture: and such also every truly converted person experiences to be his condition, when the Spirit of God renews his heart. [1.] He is described as poor and needy, sensible of his deep spiritual wants and wretchedness. [2.] He cries, and is heard; for prayer is the breath of an awakened soul. [3.] He thirsts for the pardon of his sins, a sense of the divine favour, and the supports of divine grace: and lo! the Lord quenches his thirst with views of the redeeming Blood; sheds abroad in his heart a sense of his love, and implants in his soul a living principle of grace. [4.] When this is the case, the whole heart is changed, the miserable sinful soul becomes pure, peaceable, heavenly-minded, holy, happy. [5.] This miracle of grace makes the finger of God evident; and to him the praise of this glorious work alone must be ascribed.
3rdly, The Lord, having comforted his people, resumes his controversy with the idolaters his enemies.
1. He challenges them to produce their arguments, let their Gods be brought forth and speak for themselves; if they have knowledge, or prescience, let them shew it; if power, let them exert it; can they either describe the past, or foretel the future? do good or hurt to their foolish votaries? not the least: they are nothing; a work of vanity; and justly are they counted an abomination, who forsake the living God for such senseless deities.
2. God declares his own work and design. I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come; from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: this is to be interpreted of Cyrus; by his father, a Mede; by his mother, a Persian; which countries lay, the one to the north, the other to the east of Babylon, whose princes he trod down as mortar, and proclaimed deliverance, in God’s name, to the captives.
3. God, in foretelling this, convinces them of the vanity of the idols, who could never inform them of any such transactions. The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them, and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings: Cyrus, who issued the edict for their restoration; or the Lord Christ, with his fore-runner John Baptist preaching the Gospel of the kingdom: events, whichever of them be referred to, concerning which the worshippers of idols foresaw nothing, nor had a word to plead in vindication of their abominable practices. Their idols evidently proved mere vanities, and their curiously molten images utterly useless and unprofitable.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
Holy Spirit! I beseech thee, by thy gracious influences, enable me to keep silence, and in humble waitings to distinguish thy divine leadings from my own carnal reasonings, when I draw nigh the throne of grace, in and through the Lord Jesus. Then shall I indeed come properly prepared, and renew my spiritual strength. Holy Father! I bow with reverence at thy footstool. I have access to the mercy-seat in and through Christ, but it was thou that didst call Jesus to be my High Priest, and gave him dominion over the people. Yea, Lord, thou art indeed the first and the last, Jehovah from the beginning. Precious Lord Jesus! I see in thee Jehovah’s counsel, purpose, grace, and will! To thee were all the promises made, in thee are they all fulfilled, and from thee thy people derive all interest and right in them. Jesus hath threshed the mountains, and in him shall all his people be more than conquerors. Yea, Lord, thou hast subdued sin and Satan for us; and it is thou, and thou alone, that wilt subdue those powers in us. Oh! Lord! how are the souls of thy redeemed already made joyful in the assurance of victory, and both rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. Blessed, almighty Father! blessed forever be thy name, that thou hast opened in the wilderness, to the thirst of poor sinners, fountains and rivers of waters! Thou hast planted the Plant of Renown! Thou hast given the Tree of Life! Thou hast, as the husbandman, made Jesus as the vine, and his people the branches. It is thou, even thou, that hast called him from the north, and made him blessings to the people. Oh! then, when my soul, which is poor and needy, shall at anytime seek water, and there is none, when all within me and without me is fainting for thirst, Oh! be thou to me, blessed Jesus, as rivers and streams from Lebanon; yea, be in me, a well of water, springing up to everlasting life, so shall I drink and live forever!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 41:29 Behold, they [are] all vanity; their works [are] nothing: their molten images [are] wind and confusion.
Ver. 29. Behold they are all vanity. ] Jer 10:3 ; Jer 10:15 .
Their works are nothing.
Are wind and confusion.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
molten images. See note on Isa 30:22.
wind = vanity. Hebrew. ruach (App-9). See note on Isa 57:6.
confusion. See note on Isa 24:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
they are all: Isa 41:24, Isa 44:9-20, Psa 115:4-8, Psa 135:15-18, Jer 10:2-16, Hab 2:18
wind: Jer 5:13
Reciprocal: 1Ki 16:13 – vanities Psa 97:7 – Confounded Isa 41:11 – as nothing Jer 10:8 – brutish Jer 10:15 – vanity Jer 14:22 – Are Jer 18:15 – burned 1Co 3:7 – General 1Co 10:19 – that the