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Isaiah 17:8
ESV He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.
NIV They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles and the incense altars their fingers have made.
NASB And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made, Even the Asherim and incense altars.
CSB They will not look to the altars they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and shrines they made with their fingers.
NLT They will no longer look to their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or worship at the pagan shrines they have built.
KJV And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
NKJV He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.

What does Isaiah 17:8 mean?

Following the Lord's judgment on Israel, through the devastation of Assyria's army, the survivors in Israel will finally look to their Maker for help. This is the greater point of God's judgment of Israel: to bring His people back to relying on Him for all they need (Isaiah 17:7). The prophet Isaiah says that on that day they will look to the One who made them. Israel will stop looking for help from the work of their own hands. They will stop turning to the altars and idols and false gods for help. This is likely because it will be so obvious in that moment that those gods did not do anything to save them from the Assyrian destruction.

Isaiah specifically mentions "Asherim." Asherah was a central god in the Canaanite religion. She was said to be the consort of the high god El. She also figured prominently into the fertility cults who worshiped her alongside Baal, often in groves of trees or standing poles. Worshiping Asherah and Baal in this way was meant to please them, hoping they would give their followers fertility and abundance.

One of the Lord's chief complaints throughout Israel's history was their continued return to worshiping of gods of other nations (Judges 2:16–19). The kept going to these gods of the nations that surrounded them in hopes of gaining more abundance. His judgment was meant to show, in part, how worthless these hand-made gods were to provide anything.
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