23 Bible Verses about Idols

Most Relevant Verses

All who make idols are nothing,
and what they treasure does not profit.
Their witnesses do not see or know anything,
so they will be put to shame.
Who makes a god or casts a metal image
for no profit?
Look, all its worshipers will be put to shame,
and the craftsmen are humans.
They all will assemble and stand;
they all will be startled and put to shame.read more.
The ironworker labors over the coals,
shapes the idol with hammers,
and works it with his strong arm.
Also he grows hungry and his strength fails;
he doesn’t drink water and is faint.
The woodworker stretches out a measuring line,
he outlines it with a stylus;
he shapes it with chisels
and outlines it with a compass.
He makes it according to a human likeness,
like a beautiful person,
to dwell in a temple.
He cuts down cedars for his use,
or he takes a cypress or an oak.
He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.
It serves as fuel for man.
He takes some of it and warms himself;
also he kindles a fire and bakes bread;
he even makes it into a god and worships it;
he makes an idol from it and bows down to it.
He burns half of it in a fire,
and he roasts meat on that half.
He eats the roast and is satisfied.
He warms himself and says, “Ah!
I am warm, I see the blaze.”
He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.
He bows down to it and worships;
He prays to it, “Save me, for you are my god.”
Such people do not comprehend
and cannot understand,
for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see,
and their minds so they cannot understand.
No one reflects,
no one has the perception or insight to say,
“I burned half of it in the fire,
I also baked bread on its coals,
I roasted meat and ate.
I will make something detestable with the rest of it,
and I will bow down to a block of wood.”
He feeds on ashes.
His deceived mind has led him astray,
and he cannot deliver himself,
or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?”

So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes.

“When you have children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, and if you act corruptly, make an idol in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, provoking Him to anger,

Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.

Do not turn to idols or make cast images of gods for yourselves; I am Yahweh your God.

He took the gold from their hands, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf.

Then they said, “Israel, this is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”

‘The person who makes a carved idol or cast image, which is detestable to the Lord, the work of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret is cursed.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen!’

“Do not make cast images of gods for yourselves.

From Thematic Bible


Brass » Articles made of » Idols

Daniel 5:4

They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Revelation 9:20

The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which are not able to see, hear, or walk.

Brass » Made into » Idols

Daniel 5:4

They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Revelation 9:20

The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which are not able to see, hear, or walk.

Gold » Was used for » Idols

Daniel 5:4

They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Exodus 20:23

You must not make gods of silver to rival Me; you must not make gods of gold for yourselves.

Psalm 115:4

Their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.

Idols » Vanity of

Jeremiah 50:38

A drought will come on her waters,
and they will be dried up.
For it is a land of carved images,
and they go mad because of terrifying things.

Daniel 5:23

Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in His hand and who controls the whole course of your life.

Acts 17:29

Being God’s offspring then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.

Jeremiah 10:15

They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
they will be destroyed.

Habakkuk 2:18

What use is a carved idol
after its craftsman carves it?
It is only a cast image, a teacher of lies.
For the one who crafts its shape trusts in it
and makes idols that cannot speak.

Idols » Put away

2 Kings 3:2

He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not like his father and mother, for he removed the sacred pillar of Baal his father had made.

2 Chronicles 15:8

When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

1 Samuel 7:3

Samuel told them, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, dedicate yourselves to the Lord, and worship only Him. Then He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.”

Genesis 35:2

So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes.

Joshua 24:14

“Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship Yahweh.

Iron » Made into » Idols

Daniel 5:4

They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Daniel 5:23

Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in His hand and who controls the whole course of your life.

Iron » First recorded use of » Articles made of » Idols

Daniel 5:4

They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Daniel 5:23

Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in His hand and who controls the whole course of your life.

Daniel 2:33

its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay.

Protection » Not to be found in » Idols

Isaiah 46:7

They lift it to their shoulder and bear it along;
they set it in its place, and there it stands;
it does not budge from its place.
They cry out to it but it doesn’t answer;
it saves no one from his trouble.

Deuteronomy 32:37-39

He will say: "Where are their gods, the 'rock' they found refuge in? Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let it be a shelter for you. See now that I alone am He; there is no God but Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal. No one can rescue [anyone] from My hand.

Sacrifice » Meat » Idols

Romans 14:14-23

(I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to that one it is unclean.) For if your brother is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. By what you eat, do not destroy that one for whom Christ died. Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, read more.
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves the Messiah in this way is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another. Do not tear down God's work because of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong for a man to cause stumbling by what he eats. It is a noble thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother stumble. Do you have faith? Keep it to yourself before God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and everything that is not from faith is sin.

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

About food offered to idols: We know that "we all have knowledge." Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up. If anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know it as he ought to know it. But if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. read more.
About eating food offered to idols, then, we know that "an idol is nothing in the world," and that "there is no God but one." For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth-as there are many "gods" and many "lords"- yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him. However, not everyone has this knowledge. In fact, some have been so used to idolatry up until now, that when they eat food offered to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not make us acceptable to God. We are not inferior if we don't eat, and we are not better if we do eat. But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak. For if somebody sees you, the one who has this knowledge, dining in an idol's temple, won't his weak conscience be encouraged to eat food offered to idols? Then the weak person, the brother for whom Christ died, is ruined by your knowledge. Now when you sin like this against the brothers and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won't cause my brother to fall.

1 Corinthians 10:14-33

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I am speaking as to wise people. Judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? read more.
Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for all of us share that one bread. Look at the people of Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? What am I saying then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I do say that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons! You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot share in the Lord's table and the table of demons. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? "Everything is permissible," but not everything is helpful. "Everything is permissible," but not everything builds up. No one should seek his own [good], but [the good] of the other person. Eat everything that is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience' sake, for the earth is the Lord's, and all that is in it. If one of the unbelievers invites you over and you want to go, eat everything that is set before you, without raising questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, "This is food offered to an idol," do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who told you, and for conscience' sake. I do not mean your own conscience, but the other person's. For why is my freedom judged by another person's conscience? If I partake with thanks, why am I slandered because of something for which I give thanks? Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory. Give no offense to the Jews or the Greeks or the church of God, just as I also try to please all people in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Salvation » Sought in vain from » Idols

Isaiah 45:20

“Come, gather together,
and draw near, you fugitives of the nations.
Those who carry their wooden idols,
and pray to a god who cannot save,
have no knowledge.

Jeremiah 2:28

But where are your gods you made for yourself?
Let them rise up and save you
in your time of disaster if they can,
for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.

Silver » Made into » Idols

Isaiah 2:20

On that day people will throw
their silver and gold idols,
which they made to worship,
to the moles and the bats.

Psalm 115:4

Their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.

Isaiah 30:22

Then you will defile your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, and call them filth.

Silver » Idols

Hosea 13:2

Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,
idols skillfully made from their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves.”

Exodus 20:23

You must not make gods of silver to rival Me; you must not make gods of gold for yourselves.

Isaiah 30:22

Then you will defile your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, and call them filth.

Wicked, the, are compared to » Idols

Psalm 115:8

Those who make them are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.

Topics on Idols

Abandoning Idols

Deuteronomy 7:25

You must burn up the carved images of their gods. Don’t covet the silver and gold on the images and take it for yourself, or else you will be ensnared by it, for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Bronze For Idols

2 Kings 18:4

He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for the Israelites burned incense to it up to that time. He called it Nehushtan.

Food Offered To Idols

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

About food offered to idols: We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.

Idols Not Existing

1 Corinthians 8:4

About eating food offered to idols, then, we know that “an idol is nothing in the world,” and that “there is no God but one.”

Impotence Of Idols

Jeremiah 10:5

Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.
They must be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them for they can do no harm
and they cannot do any good.

Not Worshipping Idols

Ezekiel 18:15

He does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.

Useless Idols

1 Samuel 12:21

Don’t turn away to follow worthless things that can’t profit or deliver you; they are worthless.

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