Isaiah 44:13

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
carpenter	חָרַ֣שׁ cha.Rash	H2796	a fabricator or any material · noun, common masculine singular construct
out	נָ֣טָה Na.tah	H5186	to stretch or spread out · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
rule	קָו֒ kav	H6957	a cord (as connecting) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
out	יְתָאֲרֵ֣הוּ ye.ta.'a.Re.hu	H8388	to delineate · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
line	בַשֶּׂ֔רֶד va.Se.red	H8279	a (carpenter's) scribing-awl (for pricking or scratchin… · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
fitteth	יַעֲשֵׂ֙הוּ֙ ya.'a.Se.hu	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
planes	בַּמַּקְצֻע֔וֹת ba.mak.tzu.'ot	H4741	a scraper · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
out	יְתָאֳרֵ֑הוּ ye.to.'o.Re.hu	H8388	to delineate · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
compass	וּבַמְּחוּגָ֖ה u.va.me.chu.Gah	H4230	an instrument for marking a circle · conjunction + preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
maketh	וַֽיַּעֲשֵׂ֙הוּ֙ vai.ya.'a.Se.hu	H6213	to do or make · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
figure	כְּתַבְנִ֣ית ke.tav.Nit	H8403	structure · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
man	אִ֔ישׁ 'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
beauty	כְּתִפְאֶ֥רֶת ke.tif.'E.ret	H8597	ornament (abstractly or concretely · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
man	אָדָ֖ם 'a.Dam	H120	ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · noun, common masculine singular absolute
remain	לָשֶׁ֥בֶת la.She.vet	H3427	properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
house	בָּֽיִת Ba.yit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Judges 17:4-5 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof…
Deuteronomy 4:16-18 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
Psalms 115:5-7 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art…
Romans 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping…
Genesis 31:19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.
Genesis 31:30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
Genesis 31:32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Ja…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 44:9-20

Often before, God, by the prophet, had mentioned the folly and strange sottishness of idolaters; but here he enlarges upon that head, and very fully and particularly exposes them to contempt and ridicule. This discourse is intended, 1. To arm the people of Israel against the strong temptation they would be in to worship idols when they were captives in Babylon, in compliance with the custom of the country (they being far from the city of their own solemnities) and to humour those who were now their lords and masters. 2. To cure them of their inclination to idolatry, which was the sin that did most easily beset them and to reform them from which they were sent into Babylon. As the rod of God…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 44:13

After the smith's work in preparing the instruments comes the carpenter's work in forming the idol. rule--rather, "line" [BARNES]. with a line--rather, a "pencil," [HORSLEY]. Literally, "red ochre," which he uses to mark on the wood the outline of the figure [LOWTH]. Or best, the stylus or graver, with which the incision of the outline is made [GESENIUS]. planes--rather, "chisels" or "carving tools," for a plane would not answer for carving. compass--from a Hebrew root, "to make a circle"; by it, symmetry of form is secured. according to . . . beauty of a man--irony. The highest idea the heathen could form of a god was one of a form like their own. JEROME says, "The more handsome t…

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John Gill on Isaiah 44:13

The carpenter stretcheth out his rule,.... Or, the worker of trees (e); that works in wood, or makes images of wood; having cut down a tree, he stretches out his rule or line upon it, and takes the dimensions of it, and measures the length and the breadth of it, as much as is for his purpose to make a god of: and then he maketh it out with a line; coloured with ochre, or chalk, which leaves a mark, by which he knows where to cut it, and fashion it to his mind: and he fitteth it with planes; first with the rougher planes, which take off the knotty and more rugged parts; and then with a smoother plane, makes it even, and polishes it: and he marketh it out with a compass; where its head and…

Dictionary and topics

Carpenter — An artificer in stone, iron, and copper, as well as in wood (2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Chr. 14:1; Mark 6:3). The tools used by carpenters are mentioned in 1 Sam. 13:19, 20; Judg. 4:21; Isa. 10:15; 44:13. It was…
Graving — (1.) Heb. hatsabh. Job 19:24, rendered “graven,” but generally means hewn stone or wood, in quarry or forest. (2.) Heb. harush. Jer. 17:1, rendered “graven,” and indicates generally artistic work in…
Handicraft — (Acts 18:3; 19:25; Revelation 18:22) A trade was taught to ail the Jewish boys as a necessary part of their education. Even the greatest rabbis maintained themselves by trades (Delitzsch). Says Rabbi…
Idol — (1.) Heb. aven, “nothingness;” “vanity” (Isa. 66:3; 41:29; Deut. 32:21; 1 Kings 16:13; Ps. 31:6; Jer. 8:19, etc.). (2.) ‘Elil, “a thing of naught” (Ps. 97:7; Isa. 19:3); a word of contempt, used of…
Carpentry · Making idols — Making idols
Carving · Idols ma — Idols ma
Compasses · General references — General references
Idol · .Wood and stone — .Wood and stone
Idolatry · Making idols for the purpose of, described and ridiculed — Making idols for the purpose of, described and ridiculed
Plane · A tool — A tool

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Isaiah 44:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 44:9-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 44:13

John Gill on Isaiah 44:13

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 44:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 44:9-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 44:13

John Gill on Isaiah 44:13

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Isaiah 44:13

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 44:12-13

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 44:6-20

Rashi on Isaiah 44:13