Psalms 135:17

They have ears, but they can’t hear; neither is there any breath in their mouths.

World English Bible

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Other translations

WEBBE

They have ears, but they can’t hear, neither is there any breath in their mouths.

BSB

they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths.

KJV

They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.

ASV

They have ears, but they hear not; Neither is there any breath in their mouths.

BBE

They have ears, but no hearing; and there is no breath in their mouths.

Original Hebrew

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אָזְנַיִם 'a·ze·na·yim ears H241 לָהֶם la·hem [belong] to them H9038 וְלֹא ve·lo' and not H3808 יַאֲזִינוּ ya·'a·zi·nu they give ear H238 אַף 'af also H637 אֵין־ 'ein- there not H369 יֶשׁ־ yesh- there H3426 רוּחַ ru·ach [is] breath H7307 בְּפִיהֶם be·fi·hem in mouth their H6310

The early church

"They have ears, and will not hear; neither is there any breath in their mouth" [Psalm 135:17]; "they have nostrils, and will not smell; they have hands, and will not work; they have feet, and will not walk." All these things could the carpenter, the silversmith, the goldsmith make, both eyes, and ears, and nostrils, and mouth, and hands, and feet, but he could give neither sight to the eyes, nor hearing to the ears, nor speech to the mouth, nor smell to the nostrils, nor motion to the hands, or going to the feet.

Augustine of Hippo · d. 430Expositions on the Psalms

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 15–21

These verses arm believers against idolatry and all false worship, by showing what sort of gods the heathen worshipped. And the more deplorable the condition of the Gentile nations that worship idols, the more are we to be thankful that we know better. Let us pity, and pray for, and seek to benefit benighted heathens and deluded sinners. Let us endeavour to glorify his name, and recommend his truth, not only with our lips, but by holy lives, copying the example of Christ's goodness and truth.

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Spurgeon · Verse 17

They have ears, and very large ones, too, if we remember certain of the Hindu idols. But they hear not. Useless are their ears; in fact, they are mere counterfeits and deceits. Ears which men make are always deaf: the secret of hearing is wrapped up with the mystery of life, and both are in the unsearchable mind of the Lord. It seems that these heathen gods are dumb, and blind, and deaf —a pretty bundle of infirmities to be found in a deity! Neither is there any breath in their mouths; they are dead, no sign of life is perceptible; and breathing, which is of the essence of animal life, they never knew. Shall a man waste his breath in crying to an idol which has no breath? Shall life offer up petitions to death? Verily, this is a turning of things upside down.

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Parallel passages

The same words or events elsewhere.

Psalm 115:6

Cross-references

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.