# Psalms 115.4

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-10-14 | updated: 2026-10-14 -->

**Book:** [Psalms](/codex/psalms/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 2. Wherefore should the nations say, Where is now their God? 3. But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever he pleased.
>
> **4. Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands.**
>
> 5. They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not; 6. They have ears, but they hear not; Noses have they, but they smell not; (Psalms 115:2-6, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 2. Why should the nations say, “Where is their God, now?” 3. But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.
>
> **4. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.**
>
> 5. They have mouths, but they don’t speak. They have eyes, but they don’t see. 6. They have ears, but they don’t hear. They have noses, but they don’t smell. (Psalms 115:2-6, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 2. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3. But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
>
> **4. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.**
>
> 5. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6. They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: (Psalms 115:2-6, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 2. Why do the nations say, 'Where, pray, [is] their God. 3. And our God [is] in the heavens, All that He hath pleased He hath done.
>
> **4. Their idols [are] silver and gold, work of man's hands,**
>
> 5. A mouth they have, and they speak not, Eyes they have, and they see not, 6. Ears they have, and they hear not, A nose they have, and they smell not, (Psalms 115:2-6, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._

- [H0120 - adam](/codex/h0120-adam/), *adam*, Strong's H0120

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## Quoted in

**Concepts:**

- [Are There Other Gods](/codex/are-there-other-gods/), via [Psalms 115.4-7](/codex/psalms-115-4-7/)
- [Idolatry](/codex/idolatry/), via [Psalms 115.4-8](/codex/psalms-115-4-8/)

**Lexicon:**

- [G2198 - zao](/codex/g2198-zao/), via [Psalms 115.4-7](/codex/psalms-115-4-7/)
- [H2416 - chay](/codex/h2416-chay/), via [Psalms 115.4-7](/codex/psalms-115-4-7/)

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## Notes

_Your annotations._

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.