Commentators unanimously explain that when God calls idols "nothing," He isn't referring to their physical material but to their claimed divinity. They are utterly powerless, worthless, and a "vain imagination." As multiple scholars note, this echoes the Apostle Paul's later teaching that "an idol is nothing in the world" (1 Corinthians 8:4). Any object or concept placed in God's stead is ultimately empty.