Praise His Name
They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; Psalm 135:16 · Berean Standard Bible
These idols have human features—mouths and eyes—but they can't use them. A mouth that doesn't speak, eyes that don't see: they're empty shells with no actual function or power.
The psalmist is building his argument visually. Imagine walking past an idol. It looks like it should be alive—it has a face, features. But get close and you realize it's completely inert. There's no consciousness behind those eyes, no intention behind that face.
The psalmist, describing the nature of idols
This physical critique of idolatry appears in Psalms 115 as well, emphasizing that true worship requires engagement with a living God, not a static object.
The critique of idols intensifies through enumeration of their deficiencies: they possess mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see. This catalogs their essential inertness and impotence—they are mere objects incapable of the basic functions necessary for divine agency.
The polemical form here—listing sensory organs without corresponding sensory function—may derive from wisdom tradition satire. Egyptian wisdom texts and Greek philosophical critiques of religion employed similar strategies. For Israelite audiences, the contrast was stark: their God commanded and creation obeyed; commanded and history unfolded; spoke and revelation occurred. Idols—silent, sightless, impotent—represented the ultimate theological futility.
The polemicist continues the systematic exposure of idolatry's fundamental incoherence.
This escalating critique of idolatry becomes increasingly central to biblical theology as Israel encounters more sophisticated and attractive religious alternatives. The Babylonian exile intensified these polemic concerns: if YHWH was truly supreme, why had He permitted His temple's destruction by Babylonian idolaters? Texts like Isaiah 40-55 address this theological crisis precisely by emphasizing YHWH's transcendent superiority to the gods represented by Babylonian idols.
14For the LORD will vindicate His people and will have compassion on His servants.
15The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
16They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
17they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths.
18Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.
Read all of Psalm 135 — The Lord chose Israel as His treasured possession. A hymn that celebrates divine choice and power with borrowed phrases from across the Psalter.
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