Yesaya 40:19
Konteks40:19 A craftsman casts 1 an idol;
a metalsmith overlays it with gold
and forges silver chains for it.
Yesaya 44:12-15
Konteks44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool 2
and forges metal over the coals.
He forms it 3 with hammers;
he makes it with his strong arm.
He gets hungry and loses his energy; 4
he drinks no water and gets tired.
44:13 A carpenter takes measurements; 5
he marks out an outline of its form; 6
he scrapes 7 it with chisels,
and marks it with a compass.
He patterns it after the human form, 8
like a well-built human being,
and puts it in a shrine. 9
44:14 He cuts down cedars
and acquires a cypress 10 or an oak.
He gets 11 trees from the forest;
he plants a cedar 12 and the rain makes it grow.
44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; 13
he takes some of it and warms himself.
Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
Then he makes a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it. 14
Yesaya 46:6-7
Konteks46:6 Those who empty out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on the scale 15
hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.
They then bow down and worship it.
46:7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;
they put it in its place and it just stands there;
it does not 16 move from its place.
Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;
it does not deliver him from his distress.
[40:19] 1 tn Heb “pours out”; KJV “melteth.”
[44:12] 2 tn The noun מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad), which refers to some type of tool used for cutting, occurs only here and in Jer 10:3. See HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד.
[44:12] 3 tn Some English versions take the pronoun “it” to refer to an idol being fashioned by the blacksmith (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV). NLT understands the referent to be “a sharp tool,” which is then used by the carpenter in the following verse to carve an idol from wood.
[44:12] 4 tn Heb “and there is no strength”; NASB “his strength fails.”
[44:13] 5 tn Heb “stretches out a line” (ASV similar); NIV “measures with a line.”
[44:13] 6 tn Heb “he makes an outline with the [?].” The noun שֶׂרֶד (shered) occurs only here; it apparently refers to some type of tool or marker. Cf. KJV “with a line”; ASV “with a pencil”; NAB, NRSV “with a stylus”; NASB “with red chalk”; NIV “with a marker.”
[44:13] 7 tn Heb “works” (so NASB) or “fashions” (so NRSV); NIV “he roughs it out.”
[44:13] 8 tn Heb “he makes it like the pattern of a man”; NAB “like a man in appearance.”
[44:13] 9 tn Heb “like the glory of man to sit [in] a house”; NIV “that it may dwell in a shrine.”
[44:14] 10 tn It is not certain what type of tree this otherwise unattested noun refers to. Cf. ASV “a holm-tree” (NRSV similar).
[44:14] 11 tn Heb “strengthens for himself,” i.e., “secures for himself” (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמֵץ Pi.2).
[44:14] 12 tn Some prefer to emend אֹרֶן (’oren) to אֶרֶז (’erez, “cedar”), but the otherwise unattested noun appears to have an Akkadian cognate, meaning “cedar.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 44-45. HALOT 90 s.v. I אֹרֶן offers the meaning “laurel.”
[44:15] 13 tn Heb “and it becomes burning [i.e., firewood] for a man”; NAB “to serve man for fuel.”
[44:15] 14 tn Or perhaps, “them.”
[46:6] 15 tn Heb “the reed,” probably referring to the beam of a scales. See BDB 889 s.v. קָנֶה 4.c.
[46:7] 16 tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.
