Isaiah 44:18

Idolatry Is Ridiculous

¹⁷ But from what is left of the wood he makes a god, his carved idol. He falls down before it, he worships it and prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.” ¹⁸ They do not know, nor do they understand, for God has muddied their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts (minds) as well so that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ No one remembers, nor has knowledge and understanding [enough] to say [to himself], “I have burned half of this log in the fire, and also baked bread on its coals and have roasted meat and eaten it. Then I make the rest of it into an repulsive thing [to God]; I bow down [to worship] before a block of wood!”

Have No Knowledge

No

Psalm 81:12

“So I gave them up to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in [the path of] their own counsel.

Isaiah 29:10

For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep.
He has closed your eyes, [you who are] the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, [you who are] the seers.

Jeremiah 10:8

But they are altogether irrational and stupid and foolish
In their discipline of delusion—their idol is [only] wood [it is ridiculous, empty and worthless]!

Jeremiah 10:14

Every man has become [like a brute] irrational and stupid, without knowledge [of God];
Every goldsmith is shamed by his carved idols;
For his molten images are frauds and lies,
And there is no breath in them.

Psalm 92:6

A senseless man [in his crude and uncultivated state] knows nothing,
Nor does a [self-righteous] fool understand this:

Proverbs 2:5-9

Then you will understand the [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome]
And discover the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 28:5

Evil men do not understand justice,
But they who long for and seek the Lord understand it fully.

Isaiah 1:3

“The ox [instinctively] knows its owner,
And the donkey its master’s feeding trough,
But Israel does not know [Me as Lord],
My people do not understand.”

Isaiah 6:9-10

And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on listening, but do not understand;
Keep on looking, but do not comprehend.’

Isaiah 44:9

All who make carved idols are nothing. Their precious objects are worthless [to them], and their own witnesses (worshipers) fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.

Isaiah 44:20

That kind of man (the idolater) feeds on ashes [and is satisfied with ashes]! A deceived mind has led him astray, so that he cannot save himself, or ask, “Is this thing [that I am holding] in my right hand not a lie?”

Isaiah 45:20

“Assemble yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
They are ignorant,
Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle]
And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them.

Isaiah 46:7-8

“They lift it on their shoulders [in religious processions or into battle] and carry it;
They set it in its place and there it remains standing.
It cannot move from its place.
Even if one cries to it [for help], the idol cannot answer;
It cannot save him from his distress.

Isaiah 56:11

And the dogs are greedy; they never have enough.
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
They have all turned to their own way,
Each one to his unlawful gain, without exception.

Jeremiah 5:21

‘Now hear this, O foolish people without heart,
Who have eyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear.

Daniel 12:10

Many will be purged, purified (made white) and refined, but the wicked will behave wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are [spiritually] wise will understand.

Hosea 14:9

Whoever is [spiritually] wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is [spiritually] discerning and understanding, let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
And the righteous will walk in them,
But transgressors will stumble and fall in them.

Matthew 12:34

You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

Matthew 13:14-15

In them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You will hear and keep on hearing, but never understand;
And you will look and keep on looking, but never comprehend;

John 5:44

How can you believe [in Me], when you [seek and] receive glory and approval from one another, and yet you do not seek the glory and approval which comes from the one and only God?

John 8:43

Why do you misunderstand what I am saying? It is because [your spiritual ears are deaf and] you are unable to hear [the truth of] My word.

John 12:39-40

Therefore they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,

Acts 14:16

In generations past He permitted all the nations to go their own ways;

Romans 1:21-23

For even though they knew God [as the Creator], they did not honor Him as God or give thanks [for His wondrous creation]. On the contrary, they became worthless in their thinking [godless, with pointless reasonings, and silly speculations], and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 1:28

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive,

Romans 11:8-10

just as it is written [in Scripture],

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear,
[a spiritual apathy that has continued] to this very day.”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

But even if our gospel is [in some sense] hidden [behind a veil], it is hidden [only] to those who are perishing;

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

The coming of the [Antichrist, the lawless] one is through the activity of Satan, [attended] with great power [all kinds of counterfeit miracles] and [deceptive] signs and false wonders [all of them lies],

2 Peter 2:14

They have eyes full of adultery, constantly looking for sin, enticing and luring away unstable souls. Having hearts trained in greed, [they are] children of a curse.