C. F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch on Isaiah 44:20

Isa 44:20

This exposure of the infatuation of idolatry closes with an epiphonem in the form of a gnome (cf., Isa 26:7, Isa 26:10). “He who striveth after ashes, a befooled heart has led him astray, and he does not deliver his soul, and does not think, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” We have here a complete and self-contained sentence, which must not be broken up in the manner proposed by Knobel, “He hunts after ashes; his heart is deceived,” etc. He who makes ashes, i.e., things easily scattered, perishable, and worthless, the object of his effort and striving (compare rūăch in Hos 12:2), has bee led astray from the path of truth and salvation by a heart overpowered by delusion; he is so certain, that he does not think of saving his soul, and it never occurs to him to say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” All that belongs to idolatry is sheqer - a fabrication and a lie. רעה means primarily to pasture or tend, hence to be concerned about, to strive after. הותל is an attributive, from tâlal - hâtal, ludere, ludificare (see at Isa 30:10).