44.16
The Book of Isaiah 44.16 · Half of it he burns in the fire44.16Half of it he burns in the fire
The punchline of the whole satire: one log, two uses. Half cooks his dinner and half becomes his god.
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חֶצְיוֹ1
ḥeṣyô
Half of it
שָׂרַף2
śārap̄
he burnshe burned
בְּמוֹ־3
bə-mô-
in
אֵשׁ4
ʾēš
the fire
; עַל־5
ʿal-
overon
חֶצְיוֹ6
ḥeṣyô
half of it
בָּשָׂר7
bāśār
meatflesh
יֹאכֵל8
yōḵēl
he eats
. יִצְלֶה9
yiṣleh
He roasts
צָלִי10
ṣālî
a roast
וְיִשְׂבָּע11
wə-yiśbāʿ
and is fulland he is satisfied
, אַף־12
ʾap̄-
and also
יָחֹם13
yāḥōm
he warms himselfhe is warm
וְיֹאמַר14
wə-yōʾmar
and saysand he says
, הֶאָח15
heʾāḥ
Aha!
! חַמּוֹתִי16
ḥammôṯî
I am warm
, רָאִיתִי17
rāʾîṯî
I have seen
אוּר׃18
ʾûr
the fireflame
Half of it he burns in the fire; over half of it he eats meat. He roasts a roast and is full, and he warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire!”
Half of it he burns in the fire; over half of it he eats meat. He roasts a roast and is full, and he warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire!”
44.17
The Book of Isaiah 44.17 · Save me, for you are my god!44.17Save me, for you are my god!
And the other half, the leftover, becomes the god he prays to. He asks his own scrap of wood to rescue him.
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And the rest of it he makes into a god, as his idol; he bows down to it and prostrates himself and prays to it, and says, “Save me, for you are my god!”
Heʾāḥ, “Aha!”, is a sound of satisfaction. The man stands by his stove, full of roast meat, and says: “I am warm, I have seen the fire.” It is the most domestic sentence in the prophets, and Isaiah lets the man say it himself.