Yesaya 40:19-20

40:19 A craftsman casts ¹  an idol;

a metalsmith overlays it with gold

and forges silver chains for it.

40:20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; ² 

he then seeks a skilled craftsman

to make ³  an idol that will not fall over.

Yesaya 44:12-17

44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool ⁴ 

and forges metal over the coals.

He forms it ⁵  with hammers;

he makes it with his strong arm.

He gets hungry and loses his energy; ⁶ 

he drinks no water and gets tired.

44:13 A carpenter takes measurements; ⁷ 

he marks out an outline of its form; ⁸ 

he scrapes ⁹  it with chisels,

and marks it with a compass.

He patterns it after the human form, ¹⁰ 

like a well-built human being,

and puts it in a shrine. ¹¹ 

44:14 He cuts down cedars

and acquires a cypress ¹²  or an oak.

He gets ¹³  trees from the forest;

he plants a cedar ¹⁴  and the rain makes it grow.

44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; ¹⁵ 

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. ¹⁶ 

44:16 Half of it he burns in the fire –

over that half he cooks ¹⁷  meat;

he roasts a meal and fills himself.

Yes, he warms himself and says,

‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’

44:17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol;

he bows down to it and worships it.

He prays to it, saying,

‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’

[40:19]  ¹ tn Heb “pours out”; KJV “melteth.”

[40:20]  ² tn The first two words of the verse (הַמְסֻכָּן תְּרוּמָה, hamsukan tÿrumah) are problematic. Some take מְסֻכָּן as an otherwise unattested Pual participle from סָכַן (sakhan, “be poor”) and translate “the one who is impoverished.” תְּרוּמָה (tÿrumah, “contribution”) can then be taken as an adverbial accusative, “with respect to a contribution,” and the entire line translated, “the one who is too impoverished for such a contribution [i.e., the metal idol of v. 19?] selects wood that will not rot.” However, מְסֻכָּן is probably the name of a tree used in idol manufacturing (cognate with Akkadian musukkanu, cf. H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 133). מְסֻכָּן may be a scribal interpretive addition attempting to specify עֵץ (’ets) or עֵץ may be a scribal attempt to categorize מְסֻכָּן. How an idol constitutes a תְּרוּמָה (“contribution”) is not entirely clear.

[40:20]  ³ tn Or “set up” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NASB “to prepare.”

[44:12]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “and there is no strength”; NASB “his strength fails.”

[44:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “stretches out a line” (ASV similar); NIV “measures with a line.”

[44:13]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “works” (so NASB) or “fashions” (so NRSV); NIV “he roughs it out.”

[44:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he makes it like the pattern of a man”; NAB “like a man in appearance.”

[44:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like the glory of man to sit [in] a house”; NIV “that it may dwell in a shrine.”

[44:14]  ¹² tn It is not certain what type of tree this otherwise unattested noun refers to. Cf. ASV “a holm-tree” (NRSV similar).

[44:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “strengthens for himself,” i.e., “secures for himself” (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמֵץ Pi.2).

[44:14]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and it becomes burning [i.e., firewood] for a man”; NAB “to serve man for fuel.”

[44:15]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “them.”

[44:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “eats” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV “roasts.”