44.12
The Book of Isaiah 44.12 · The ironsmith works until he is faint44.12The ironsmith works until he is faint
Now the satire gets down to the workshop. First the smith, who labors hard to make the thing and grows weak doing it.
· · ·
חָרַשׁ1
ḥāraš
The smith ofcraftsman of
בַּרְזֶל2
barzel
iron
makes
מַעֲצָד3
maʿăṣāḏ
a toolaxe
וּפָעַל4
û-p̄āʿal
and worksand he works
בַּפֶּחָם5
ba-ppeḥām
over the coalsin the coals
וּבַמַּקָּבוֹת6
û-ḇa-mmaqqāḇôṯ
and with hammersand with the hammers
יִצְּרֵהוּ7
yiṣṣərēhû
he shapes ithe forms it
וַיִּפְעָלֵהוּ8
wa-yyip̄ʿālēhû
and works itand he works it
בִּזְרוֹעַ9
bi-zrôaʿ
with the arm of
כֹּחוֹ10
kōḥô
his strength
גַּם־11
gam-
evenalso
רָעֵב12
rāʿēḇ
he grows hungryhe is hungry
וְאֵין13
wə-ʾên
and withoutand there is no
כֹּחַ14
kōaḥ
strength
לֹא־15
lō-
he has not
שָׁתָה16
šāṯâ
drunkhe has drunk
מַיִם17
mayim
water
וַיִּיעָף׃18
wa-yyîʿāp̄
and he faintsand he grew weary
The ironsmith makes a tool and works over the coals with hammers he shapes it and works it with his strong arm he even grows hungry and is without strength he has not drunk water and he faints
The ironsmith makes a tool and works over the coals with hammers he shapes it and works it with his strong arm he even grows hungry and is without strength he has not drunk water and he faints
44.13
The Book of Isaiah 44.13 · The carpenter measures out a man44.13The carpenter measures out a man
Next the woodworker, who marks, planes and compasses a block of wood until it looks like a human being.
· · ·
The woodworker stretches out a line he marks it out with an awl; he shapes it with planes and he marks it with a compass and makes it in the shape of a man, like a human's beauty, to sit in a house.
The ironsmith gets the first portrait. He works over the coals with hammers and “the strength of his arm”, and then he gets hungry, has no strength, drinks no water, and faints. The maker of a god cannot keep himself going through lunch. Isaiah is being funny, and he is setting up the bigger joke of the carpenter.