Isaiah 2:20 describes a coming day when people will throw away the idols they once trusted and worshiped, including those made of precious silver and gold. The verse is a prophetic warning that human-made gods will be exposed as worthless when the LORD acts in judgment and glory. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, speaks these words to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, calling them to see that false security is about to collapse.
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 a moment when God will decisively act, a theme that runs through the whole chapter. Isaiah describes people discarding their idols of silver and gold, objects they had crafted with great expense and care and then bowed down to. The verse pictures them abandoning these prized possessions in a panic, which shows how empty those idols really were once the LORD appears.
The image of throwing idols “to the moles and to the bats” is striking because these are creatures that live in darkness and hidden places. Isaiah is mocking the idea that anything crafted from precious metal could be a true god, since people are now willing to cast them to animals that dwell in the dark. The verse does not promise a particular rescue or outcome for the reader. What it does is expose the futility of trusting in what humans make and sets up the larger point that only the LORD deserves worship.
The Context of Isaiah 2:20
The book of Isaiah is attributed to the prophet Isaiah, who ministered in Judah during the eighth century before Christ, a period marked by political pressure, economic inequality, and religious compromise. His hearers were the people of Judah and Jerusalem, many of whom had turned to foreign alliances and the wealth-driven religion around them instead of depending on God. Chapter 2 opens with a vision of the nations streaming to the mountain of the LORD’s house, then turns to a sharp rebuke of Judah’s pride.
Verses 17 and 18 announce that human pride will be brought low and that the LORD alone will be exalted, and verse 19 describes people hiding in caves from the terror of His majesty. Verse 22 then calls the people to stop trusting in mere mortals whose breath is in their nostrils. Read in this setting, verse 20 is not a random picture of idol disposal but part of a sustained argument that human status, wealth, and religious objects cannot save anyone when God rises to shake the earth.
Key Phrases in Isaiah 2:20
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 contrasts the silver and gold idols of the nations with the living LORD who acts and blesses. Reading it alongside Isaiah 2:20 shows that idols are lifeless and that those who make and trust them become like them.
Jeremiah 10:3-5
3 For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers, so that it can’t move. 5 They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and don’t speak. They must be carried, because they can’t move. Don’t be afraid of them; for they can’t do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”
(WEB)
Jeremiah describes idols overlaid with silver and gold that cannot speak or move. His vivid mockery matches Isaiah’s point that such objects are powerless and must be carried rather than trusted.
A Short Prayer From Isaiah 2:20
Lord, you are the only one worthy of my trust, and I confess how easily my heart settles on things I can see and control. Show me where I have made lesser things into gods, whether money, approval, comfort, or my own plans. Let your greatness become more real to me than my fears and possessions. Teach me to set aside whatever cannot save me and to rest in your steady faithfulness. Amen.
