Isaiah 44:12 · KJV
“The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. {with the tongs: or, with an axe}”
— Isaiah 44:12
Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they {are} of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; {yet} they shall fear, {and} they shall be ashamed together.
The carpenter stretcheth out {his} rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.
Isaiah 44 — Context
Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image {that} is profitable for nothing?
11Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they {are} of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; {yet} they shall fear, {and} they shall be ashamed together.
12The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. {with the tongs: or, with an axe}
13The carpenter stretcheth out {his} rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.
14He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish {it}. {strengtheneth: or, taketh courage}
Cross References
Isaiah 41:6-7
They helped every one his neighbour; and {every one} said to his brother, Be of good courage. {Be...: Heb. Be strong}
Isaiah 40:19
The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
Isaiah 46:6-7
They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, {and} hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
Exodus 32:4
And he received {them} at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These {be} thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Jeremiah 10:3-11
For the customs of the people {are} vain: for {one} cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. {customs...: Heb. statutes, or, ordinances are vanity}
Exodus 32:8
They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These {be} thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Habakkuk 2:13
Behold, {is it} not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? {for...: or, in vain?}