Isaiah 2:20 describes a coming day when people will throw away the idols they once valued most, the precious silver and gold statues they made to worship, and hide them among animals in the dark. The verse is a picture of how empty false gods are when the LORD steps into history to judge human pride. The prophet Isaiah speaks it to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, warning them about the choices they are making in their own time.
In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats…
Isaiah 2:20 (WEB)
What Isaiah 2:20 Means
The phrase “in that day” points forward to the time when God acts decisively, a moment Isaiah calls the day of the LORD. In that day, people will abandon idols made of silver and gold. These were not cheap objects. They were costly, carefully crafted, and trusted for security, prosperity, and protection. Isaiah says they will be cast aside, as worthless as the rodents and bats that scurry through the dark.
The verse does not promise that every person will repent or that the nation will be spared without consequence. It describes what happens when the true power of God is revealed. The people are shown to be terrified, and what they once relied on offers no help. The image is a warning and a diagnosis, not a neat formula for spiritual success.
The Context of Isaiah 2:20
The book of Isaiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet Isaiah, who ministered in Jerusalem during the eighth century BC. Chapter 2 opens with a vision of Zion, a future where nations come to the LORD’s house to learn his ways. Verse 12 introduces the day of the LORD as a day against all that is proud and lofty, and the surrounding verses turn the spotlight onto human arrogance, the cedars of Lebanon, the high towers, and the ships of Tarshish.
Read in that setting, verse 20 is not a random warning about idols. It is part of a larger announcement that human pride, including the pride of religious and material self-reliance, will be humbled. Verse 22 closes the section with a direct call: stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils. The idols in verse 20 are one expression of the same misplaced trust.
Key Phrases in Isaiah 2:20
Isaiah 2:22
Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?
(WEB)
This verse closes the same passage with a direct command to stop trusting in mortal people. It shows that the warning about idols is part of a broader call to place confidence in the LORD rather than in any human source of strength.
Psalm 115:4-8
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. 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.
(WEB)
This psalm describes idols of silver and gold as lifeless objects with mouths that cannot speak and eyes that cannot see. It reinforces Isaiah’s point that those who make and trust such things become like them, while the LORD alone is the true help of his people.
A Short Prayer From Isaiah 2:20
Lord, you alone are worthy of my trust, and you alone can bear the weight of my hopes. Show me where I have quietly placed my confidence in things that cannot save me, whether money, approval, comfort, or control. Give me the courage to set those things aside and turn my heart back to you. Teach me to rest in your strength rather than my own plans, and let your presence be my security in every season. Amen.
