They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.

ISAIAH 46:6KJV
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Isaiah 46:6 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 46:6 mean?

Isaiah 46:6 describes people spending their gold and silver to have a craftsman make an idol, which they then bow down to and worship as a god. The verse points out the irony and futility of creating a god out of precious metals and then treating it as divine.

In this verse, the prophet Isaiah is speaking to the people of Israel, highlighting the foolishness of idol worship. He shows how people go to great effort and expense—lavishing gold, weighing silver, and hiring a skilled goldsmith—only to end up worshiping something they have made themselves. This is part of a larger passage where God, through Isaiah, contrasts Himself with lifeless idols.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 46:6

  • "Lavish" (יזלו, yazlu): This word means to pour out or spend freely, emphasizing how people are willing to use up their resources for idol-making.
  • "Gold" (זהב, zahav) and "silver" (כסף, keseph): These words highlight the value and beauty of the materials, underlining the irony that even precious metals do not make the idol truly divine.
  • "Maketh it a god" (ויעשהו אל, vaya’asehu el): The word for "god" here is אֵל (el), which can mean a mighty one or deity, but in this context, it is clearly something man-made and powerless.

Why Isaiah 46:6 matters

  • Isaiah 46:6 clears up the misunderstanding that something valuable or beautiful can become divine just because people treat it as such; the verse exposes the emptiness of idol worship.
  • The verse emphasizes the contrast between the living God and lifeless idols, a major theme in Isaiah 46, helping readers see the folly of trusting in things made by human hands.
  • This verse connects to the wider passage by showing the lengths people will go to create and honor idols, setting up God’s argument that He alone is worthy of worship because He is the Creator, not a creation.

Where else these words appear

“lavish” Hebrew H2107 · used in 2 verses

  • Lamentations 1:8 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.

“down” Hebrew H5456 · used in 4 verses

  • Isaiah 44:15 Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.
  • Isaiah 44:17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.
  • Isaiah 44:19 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?

“bag” Hebrew H3599 · used in 6 verses

  • Deuteronomy 25:13 Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
  • Proverbs 1:14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
  • Proverbs 23:31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

“hire” Hebrew H7936 · used in 18 verses

  • Genesis 30:16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
  • 2 Samuel 10:6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob twelve thousand men.
  • Ezra 4:5 And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.