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Louis Segond
Ésaïe 44:12
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Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
Le forgeron de fer [prend] le ciseau et travaille avec le charbon, il le forme avec des marteaux, il le fait � force de bras, m�me ayant faim, tellement qu'il n'en peut plus; et s'il ne boit point d'eau, il en est tout fatigu�.
Le forgeron fait une hache, et il travaille avec le charbon; il fa�onne le m�tal avec le marteau, il le travaille � force de bras; m�me il a faim et il est sans force; il ne boit point d'eau, et il est �puis�.
L'ouvrier en fer a un ciseau, et il travaille avec des charbons; il forme l'image avec des marteaux, et la travaille avec son bras vigoureux; mais il a faim et il n'a pas de force; et n'a pas bu d'eau, et il est las.
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
The smith: Isaiah 40:19, Isaiah 41:6, Isaiah 41:7, Isaiah 46:6, Isaiah 46:7, Exodus 32:4, Exodus 32:8, Jeremiah 10:3-11
the tongs: or, an axe
he is: Habakkuk 2:13
Reciprocal: Genesis 21:15 - the water Psalms 107:5 - General Proverbs 31:17 - strengtheneth Ecclesiastes 10:15 - labour Isaiah 29:8 - behold Jeremiah 9:5 - weary Jeremiah 10:4 - fasten Jeremiah 14:22 - Are
Gill's Notes on the Bible
The smith with the tongs,.... Or, "the worker of iron" c; the blacksmith, who had a concern in making of idols, for some were made of iron, Daniel 5:4, or in making plates to cover them, or nails to fasten them with, or instruments which the carpenter made use of in cutting down trees, and fitting the wood for an image; such as the axe or hatchet, or plane, and which some think is here meant, by the word translated "tongs", but is rendered an "axe", Jeremiah 10:3 and is used for that, or an hatchet, or a plane, by the Misnic d writers; so the Targum renders it,
"the smith out of iron makes an axe or hatchet:''
"both worketh in the coals"; he puts his iron in the coals, and blows upon them, and so makes it soft and malleable, and then takes it out:
and fashioneth it with hammers: beats it with hammers upon the anvil, and puts it into what form he pleases:
and worketh it with the strength of his arms; uses his utmost strength to bring it into a form he is desirous of:
yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint; he works at it with all his might and main, is earnest at it, and is eagerly desirous of finishing his work; he works till he is hungry and thirsty, and for want of food is ready to faint and sink; and yet will not give himself time to eat and drink, being so intent upon his work: or the sense is, though he is hungry and thirsty, and faints for want of provisions, yet the god he is making, or has made, cannot supply him with any: this is said to expose the folly of idol making, and of idol worship.
c חרש ברזל "faber ferri", Pagninus, Montanus; "faber ferrarius", V. L. Vitringa. d Misn. Sabbat, c. 12. sect. 1. Celim, c. 29. 6.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The smith with the tongs - The prophet proceeds here to show the folly and absurdity of idolatry; and in order to this he goes into an extended statement Isaiah 44:12-19 of the manner in which idols were usually made. Lowth remarks, ‘The sacred writers are generally large and eloquent on the subject of idolatry; they treat it with great severity, and set forth the absurdity of it in the strongest light. But this passage of Isaiah far exceeds anything that was ever written on the subject, in force of argument, energy of expression, and elegance of composition. One or two of the Apocryphal writers have attempted to imitate the prophet, but with very ill success (Wisd. 13:11-19; 15:7; etc.; Baruch 6) Horace, however, has given a description of the making of idols, which, for severity of satire, and pungency of sarcasm, has a strong resemblance to this description in Isaiah:
Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum;
Cum faber, incertus scamnum faceretne Priapum
Maluit esse Deum.
Sat. I. viii. 1-3.
Lowth renders the phrase ‘the smith with the tongs,’ ‘The smith cutteth off a portion of iron.’ Noyes, ‘The smith prepareth an axe’ The Septuagint, ‘The carpenter sharpeneth (ὤζυνε ōzune) iron’ (σίδηρον sidēron), that is, an axe. So also the Syriac. Gesenius renders it, ‘The smith makes an axe.’ Many other renderings of the passage have been proposed. The idea in this verse is, I think, that the prophet describes the commencement of the process of making a graven image. For that purpose, he goes back even to the making of the instruments by which it is manufactured, and in this verse he describes the process of making an axe, with a view to the cutting down of the tree, and forming a god. That he does not here refer to the making of the idol itself is apparent from the fact that the process here described is that of working in iron; but idols were not made of iron, and that here described especially (Isaiah 44:11 ff) is one made of wood. The phrase used here, therefore, refers to the process of axe-making with a view to cutting down a tree to make a god; and the prophet describes the ardor and activity with which it is done, to show how much haste they were in to complete it. The literal translation of this phrase is, ‘The workman (חרשׁ chârash, st. const. for חרשׁ chârâsh) of iron (maketh) an axe.’
Both worketh in the coals - And he works the piece of iron of which he is making an axe in the coals. He blows the coals in order to produce an intense heat (see Isaiah 54:16) - ‘Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire.’
And fashioneth it with hammers - Forms the mass of iron into an axe. Axes were not cast, but made.
And worketh it with the strength of his arms - Or, he works it with his strong arms - referring to the fact that the arm of the smith, by constant usage, becomes exceedingly strong. A description remarkably similar to this occurs in Virgil when he is describing the Cyclops:
Illi inter sesc magna vi brachia tollunt
In numerum; versantque tenaci forcipe ferrum.
Georg. iv. 174, 175.
Heaved with vast strength their arms in order rise,
And blow to blow in measured chime replies;
While with firm tongs they turn the sparkling ore,
And Etna’s caves with ponderous anvils roar.
Sotheby.
Yea, he is hungry - He exhausts himself by his hard labor. The idea is, that he is so anxious to have it done, so engaged, so diligent, that he does not even stop to take necessary refreshment.
And his strength faileth - He works until he is completely exhausted.
He drinketh no water - He does not intermit his work even long enough to take a draught of water, so hurried is he. While the iron is hot, he works with intense ardor, lest it should grow cool, and his work be retarded - a very graphic description of what all have seen in a blacksmith’s shop. The Rev. John Williams states that when the South Sea islanders made an idol, they strictly abstained from food; and although they might be, and were sometimes, three days about the work, no water, and he believes no food, passed their lips all the time. This fact would convey a satisfactory elucidation of an allusion not otherwise easily explained (Pictorial Bible).
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Isaiah 44:12. The smith with the tongs, c. - "The smith cutteth off a portion of iron"] מעצד meatstsed, Participium Pihel of עצד atsad, to cut still used in that sense in the Arabic. See Simonis Lex. Heb. The Septuagint and Syriac take the word in this form: but they render it sharpeneth the iron. See Castell. Lex. in voce.
The sacred writers are generally large and eloquent upon the subject of idolatry; they treat it with great severity, and set forth the absurdity of it in the strongest light. But this passage of Isaiah, Isaiah 44:12-20, far exceeds any thing that ever was written upon the subject, in force of argument, energy of expression, and elegance of composition. One or two of the apocryphal writers have attempted to imitate the prophet, but with very ill success; Wisd. 13:11-19; 15:7, c. Baruch vi., especially the latter, who, injudiciously dilating his matter, and introducing a number of minute circumstances, has very much weakened the force and effect of his invective. On the contrary a heathen author, in the ludicrous way, has, in a line or two, given idolatry one of the severest strokes it ever received: -
Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum,
Cum faber incertus, scamnum faceretne Priapum,
Maluit esse Deum. Deus inde ego.
HORAT. Satyr, lib. 1. sat. viii.
"Formerly I was the stump of a fig tree, a useless log; when the carpenter, after hesitating whether to make me a god or a stool, at last determined to make me a god. Thus I became a god!"
From the tenth to the seventeenth verse, a most beautiful strain of irony is carried on against idolatry. And we may naturally think that every idolater, who either read or heard it, must have been for ever ashamed of his own devices. - L.
