The sudden revelation of God's true power shatters the illusions of those who worship false deities. When faced with His overwhelming greatness, idol worshippers experience a profound crisis of faith, realizing the absolute helplessness of the objects they once served. Struck by this undeniable truth, these individuals physically and mentally step back. Retreating serves as a physical reaction to their deep shame, much like an embarrassed person stepping backward to hide their face [מצודת דוד]. At the same time, this retreat symbolizes a complete withdrawal from their misguided thoughts and false beliefs [רד״ק, צאינה וראינה]. They are forced to step away out of an inability to stand before God's majesty, overwhelmed by the foolishness of their actions [אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
The objects of their devotion include both carved figures and molten images formed by melting and pouring metal [מצודת ציון, שד״ל]. Some connect the concept of molten images to ideas of rule and authority, indicating that the worshippers look to these metal figures as actual ruling deities [מלבי״ם]. Alternatively, the different descriptions of the idols can be seen as a single concept, referring to carved images made of molten metal [אבן עזרא].
The primary approach among commentators is that the dual description of these worshippers serves to strengthen the overall message, expressing the same idea twice in different words for emphasis [מצודת דוד]. However, another perspective identifies two distinct groups of idolaters. The first group consists of people who actually believe in God as the ultimate creator but use carved idols as mediators to get what they want. When they see their idols fail, they simply step back and stop trusting them. The second group, however, completely denies God and declares the molten images themselves to be actual gods. Because their error is so absolute, their reaction goes beyond merely stepping away; they are struck with an intense, crushing shame and disgrace over their immense foolishness [מלבי״ם].