Praise His Name
they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. Psalm 135:17 · Berean Standard Bible
The psalmist continues the catalog of idol deficiency: they have ears but can't hear, and there's no breath in them—no life at all. They're dead things masquerading as gods.
In Hebrew thinking, breath (ruach) equals life and spirit. The psalmist is saying these idols don't have what makes something alive. They're phonies. Meanwhile, the God of Israel is living, responsive, and active.
The psalmist, exposing idolatry's fundamental emptiness
This connects to God's creation of humans 'in His image' and His breathing the breath of life into Adam—true divinity involves aliveness, responsiveness, and presence.
The indictment continues: idols lack hearing and breath—they cannot perceive prayer, petition, or cries for help, and they possess no animating life force. This systematically disqualifies them from any genuine role in human religious experience.
The mention of 'breath' (נְשָׁמָה, neshamah) carries theological weight: in Hebrew anthropology and cosmology, breath (also ruach) is the animating principle of life. Genesis 2:7 describes humanity as receiving divine breath; Psalm 104:29-30 associates breath with divine presence sustaining creation. Idols lack this animating principle entirely—they are literally lifeless, incapable of the fundamental vitality required for any interaction with their supposed worshippers.
The polemicist reaches the climax of the critique, addressing the most fundamental deficiency: idols lack the vital principle that characterizes living, conscious beings.
This assertion of God's aliveness versus idols' deadness becomes a central claim distinguishing biblical monotheism from surrounding religious systems. Later theological traditions—particularly medieval Jewish philosophy (Maimonides) and Christian Scholasticism (Aquinas)—would develop this into more sophisticated arguments about God as pure actuality (actus purus) versus the contingent being of creation.
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.
19O house of Israel, bless the LORD; O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;
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.
This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.
Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhone & iPad