Isaiah 41:24

“Behold, ye are of nothing, &c.] Not as to the matter of them, for they were made of gold, silver, brass, &c. but as to the divinity of them: there was none in them, they were of no worth and value; they could do nothing, either good or evil, either help their friends, or hurt their enemies; yea, they were less than nothing; for the words may be rendered by way of comparison, “behold, ye are less than nothing”;f802. (See Gill on “<234017>Isaiah 40:17”); and your work of nought; the workmanship bestowed on them, in casting or carving them, was all to no purpose, and answered no end; or the work they did, or pretended to do, their feigned oracles, and false predictions: or, “worse than…”

“of nothing--(See on Isa 40:17). The Hebrew text is here corrupt; so English Version treats it. abomination--abstract for concrete: not merely abominable, but the essence of whatever is so (Deu 18:12). chooseth you--as an object of worship.”

“Behold, ye are of nothing - Margin, ‘Worse than nothing.’ This refers to idols; and the idea is, that they were utterly vain and powerless; they were as unable to render aid to their worshippers as absolute nothingness would be, and all their confidence in them was vain and foolish. And your work - All that you do, or all that it is pretended that you do. Of nought - Margin, ‘Worse than a viper.’ The word used here in the common Hebrew text (אפע 'epa‛) occurs in no other place. Gesenius supposes that this is a corrupt reading for אפס 'epes (nothing), and so our translators have regarded it, and in this opinion most expositors agree. Hahn has adopted this reading in his Hebrew Bible. The…”

“Your work - Your operations are like your beings: there is no reality in your beings, nor efficacy in your actions. Isaiah 41:25”

“ye are: Isa 41:29, Isa 44:9, Isa 44:10; Psa 115:8; Jer 10:8, Jer 10:14, Jer 51:17, Jer 51:18; Co1 8:4 of nothing: or, worse than nothing of nought: or, worse than of a viper an abomination: Isa 66:24; Deu 7:26, Deu 27:15; Rev 17:5 Isaiah 41:25”

“Jehovah has thus placed Himself in opposition to the heathen and their gods, as the God of history and prophecy. It now remains to be seen whether the idols will speak, to prove their deity. By no means; not only are they silent, but they cannot speak. Therefore Jehovah breaks out into words of wrath and contempt. "Behold, ye are of nothing, and your doing of nought: an abomination whoever chooseth you." The two מן are partitive, as in Isa 40:17; and מאפע is not an error of the pen for מאפס, as Gesenius and others suppose, but אפע from עפע = פּה (from which comes פּה), פּעה, Isa 42:14 (from which comes אפעה, Isa 59:5), to breathe, stands as a synonym to און, הבל, רוח. The attributive clause…”