John of Damascus, on Isa 17:8

“And he shall not look to the altars which his hands made: and he shall not have respect to the things that his fingers wrought, such as groves and temples.”

“Those who trust in idols are foolish. Idols are their own creations, things they made with their own hands, but they turn around and say, "These idols are our creators." How can these people say that something they made is their creator? Moreover, they guard their idols, so that they will not be stolen by thieves. What foolishness! If idols cannot guard and protect themselves, how can they guard and save others?”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.