Passage

Psalms 115.8

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

6. They have ears, but they hear not; Noses have they, but they smell not; 7. They have hands, but they handle not; Feet have they, but they walk not; Neither speak they through their throat.

8. They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them.

O Israel, trust thou in Jehovah: He is their help and their shield. 10. O house of Aaron, trust ye in Jehovah: He is their help and their shield. (Psalms 115:6-10, ASV)

WEB

6. They have ears, but they don’t hear. They have noses, but they don’t smell. 7. They have hands, but they don’t feel. They have feet, but they don’t walk, neither do they speak through their throat.

8. Those who make them will be like them; yes, everyone who trusts in them.

Israel, trust in Yahweh! He is their help and their shield. 10. House of Aaron, trust in Yahweh! He is their help and their shield. (Psalms 115:6-10, WEB)

KJV

6. They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7. They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

8. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 10. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. (Psalms 115:6-10, KJV)

YLT

6. Ears they have, and they hear not, A nose they have, and they smell not, 7. Their hands, but they handle not, Their feet, and they walk not;

8. Nor do they mutter through their throat, Like them are their makers, Every one who is trusting in them.

O Israel, trust in Jehovah, 'Their help and their shield [is] He.' 10. O house of Aaron, trust in Jehovah, 'Their help and their shield [is] He.' (Psalms 115:6-10, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the psalmist; the psalm carries no attribution
Audience: Israel gathered in worship; the Psalter is the congregation's book
Location: the sanctuary and its liturgy, rather than a narrative setting
Time period: the monarchy or later; individual psalms are difficult to date and the Psalter was compiled over centuries

Theological reading

Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.

The conclusion of the psalm's satire on idols, which has just catalogued mouths that do not speak, eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear, noses that do not smell, hands that do not feel and feet that do not walk.

The verse states a principle about worship: the worshipper is conformed to the object. Because idols are inert and senseless, those who trust them become inert and senseless, which is a claim about the formative power of what one venerates rather than merely a taunt.

Its positive counterpart is the New Testament's expectation that beholding leads to transformation into the same image. The mechanism is presented as neutral and the outcome depends on the object, which makes the choice of what to worship a question about what one will become. Isaiah 44 makes the same argument at greater length.

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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.