Not to Us
They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; Psalm 115:5 · Berean Standard Bible
These idols have faces and features, but they're completely useless—they can't actually do anything a real God does, like speak or see.
The psalmist is describing what anyone could observe by looking at an idol: it's manufactured, lifeless, incapable of relationship or response. He's appealing to common sense.
The psalmist, building momentum in his argument
This points to a fundamental difference between Israel's faith and paganism—their God isn't an object to be manipulated or controlled. He's a living person who speaks and responds.
Despite their sculptural mimicry of human features—mouth, eyes, and other sensory organs—idols are utterly functionless, incapable of communication, perception, or agency.
The mouth (peh) traditionally signified authority and utterance in Hebraic thought; eyes (ayin) represented knowledge and presence. By denying these capacities to idols, the psalmist deconstructs idolatry's central pretense: that carved images participate in divine knowledge and intention. Ancient magical thinking assumed images could mediate divine power; the psalmist exposes the hollow mechanism.
The psalmist, continuing the pedagogical critique through direct observation.
This satire descends from the Egyptian Instruction of Ptahhotep and Mesopotamian wisdom traditions, but inverts their purpose—what ancient Near Eastern religion affirmed, Israel's prophets ridicule. The sensory deprivation motif reappears in Deuteronomy 4:28 and becomes eschatological hope in Isaiah 35:5-6 (the blind seeing, the deaf hearing) as signs of redemption.
3Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.
4Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
5They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
6they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell;
7they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats.
Read all of Psalm 115 — Not to us, O Lord, but to Your name give glory. The idols of the nations have mouths but cannot speak. Our God does whatever He pleases.
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