Isaiah Chapter 44 verse 20 Holy Bible

ASV Isaiah 44:20

He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
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BBE Isaiah 44:20

As for him whose food is the dust of a dead fire, he has been turned from the way by a twisted mind, so that he is unable to keep himself safe by saying, What I have here in my hand is false.
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DARBY Isaiah 44:20

He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
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KJV Isaiah 44:20

He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
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WBT Isaiah 44:20


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WEB Isaiah 44:20

He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can't deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
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YLT Isaiah 44:20

Feeding on ashes, the heart is deceived, It hath turned him aside, And he delivereth not his soul, nor saith: `Is there not a lie in my right hand?'
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 20. - He feedeth on ashes; i.e. on vanity - on what can give no support or sustenance (comp. Proverbs 15:14; Hosea 12:1). A deceived heart. Either self-deceived, or imposed upon by illusions from without; e.g. the seeming power of the idols, as seen in the victories and conquests of their worshippers. He cannot deliver his soul. The deceived soul is bound in trammels, which it feels to be irksome, and from which it would fain be free. But it cannot deliver itself. Deliverance must come from some external source; in other words, man needs a Deliverer. Is there not a lie in my right hand? An idol is "a lie." It professes to have power, strength, ability to help and save, whereas it has no power at all. It cannot even save itself. Savages often beat their fetishes. Diagoras of Melos threw an image of Hercules into the fire on which he was cooking his dinner, and bade Hercules make himself of some use by boiling his turnips. The powerlessness of idols even to help themselves is represented with much force in the Book of Baruch (6:12-15, 17-22, 27, 49, etc.).

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(20) He feedeth on ashes.--The verb passes readily through the meanings "feeding," "pasturing," "following after," and the last is commonly accepted. The first, however, has the merit of greater vividness. (Comp. Hosea 12:1.) The "ashes" of the smith's furnace become the symbols of the vanity of his work (Ecclesiastes 7:6), and yet he has not even the germ of truth which lies in the questions of the sceptic.