Isaiah 10:15
in Isaiah 10Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? shall the saw magnify itself against him that wieldeth it? as if a rod should wield them that lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up him that is not wood.
KJV
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
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This verse in Isaiah 10
Commentary
12 notes on this verse(Verse 15.) Will the axe boast against the one who hews with it, or the saw exalt itself against the one who draws it? As if a rod should raise itself against the one who lifts it, or a staff should exalt itself, which is only wood. In response to Sennacherib, or as many believe, Nebuchadnezzar, boasting and saying: 'By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding,' the holy Prophet replied: 'O most foolish of mortals, do you think God's wrath is your wisdom, and His command is your strength?'
This site's exposition
Does an axe raise itself
on Isaiah 10:15-16
The central image asks whether an axe can raise itself above the one who swings it, turning the boast back on the boaster. The rod and staff of verse 5 return as tools mistaking themselves for the hand. An axe has no glory of its own, whatever cutting it does.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Let us consider therefore those to whom God has granted power, to see if we may deserve to serve them and to cling to their doctrine, putting aside all pride and resisting with great courage the sin, which fearlessly operates in bodies; for death has …
For you, Sennacherib, are the ax in the hands of him that cuts, and you are the saw in the hands of him that saws, and the rod in the hand of him that wields you for chastisement, and you are the staff for smiting. You are sent against the fickle people, and again you are ordained against the stubborn people, that you may carry away the captivity and take the spoil; and you have made them as the mire of the streets for all people and for all the Gentiles. And when you have done all these things, why are you exalted against him who holds you, and why do you boast against him who saws with you, and why have you reviled the holy city?
The Medieval Church1 voice
Shall the axe boast itself? Here the rebuke of the boaster is set out, because he is like an instrument, which cannot work except by the movement of the craftsman: the axe, for killing the wicked; shall the saw, for separating the good from wicked, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The tool striving with the workman is no less absurd than the clay striving with the potter; and as it is a thing not to be justified that men should fight against God with the wit, and wealth, and power, which he gives them, so it is a thing not to be suffered.
The ax - How absurd is it, for thee, who art but an instrument in God's hand, to blaspheme thy Lord and master, who has as great power over thee, as a man hath over the ax wherewith he heweth?
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?....
A promise of grace to the people of God, to enable them to bear up under the affliction, and to get good by it,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Shall the axe ... - In this verse God reproves the pride and arrogance of the Assyrian monarch. He does it by reminding him that he was the mere instrument in his hand, to accomplish his purposes; and that it was just as absurd for him to boast of what he had done, as it would be for the axe to boast when it had been welded with effect. In the axe there is no wisdom, no skill, no power; and though it may lay the forest low, yet it is not by any skill or power which it possesses.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Through free in a sense, and carrying out his own plans, the Assyrian was unconsciously carrying out God's purposes. shaketh it--moves it back and forward. staff . . . lift . . . itself . . . no wood--rather, "as if the staff (man, the instrument of God's judgments on his fellow man) should set aside (Him who is) not wood" (not a mere instrument, as man).
No wood “Its master” - I have here given the meaning, without attempting to keep to the expression of the original, לא עץ lo ets, “the no-wood;” that which is not wood like itself, but of a quite different and superior nature. The Hebrews have a peculiar way of joining the negative particle לא lo to a noun, to signify in a strong manner a total negation of the thing expressed by the noun. “How hast thou given help (ללא כח lelo choach) to the no-strength? And saved the arm (לא עז lo oz) of the no-power? How hast, thou given counsel (ללא חכמה lelo chochmah) to the no-wisdom?” Job 26:2, Job 26:3. That is, to the man totally deprived of strength, power, and wisdom. “Ye that rejoice (ללא דבר lelo dabar) in nothing.” Amo 6:13. That is, in your fancied strength, which is none at all, a mere nonentity. “For I am God, (ולא איש velo ish), and no-man; The Holy One in the midst of thee, yet do not frequent cities.” Hos 11:9. “And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword (לא איש lo ish) of no-man; And a sword of (לא אדם lo adam) no-mortal, shall devour him.” Isa 31:8. “Wherefore do ye weigh out your silver (בלוא לחם belo lechem) for the no-bread.” Isa 55:2. So here לא עץ lo ets means him who is far from being an inert piece of wood, but is an animated and active being; not an instrument, but an agent.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲיִתְפָּאֵר֙ | hayitpaer | ¿ does it glorify itself | H6286 → | 14 times |
| הַגַּרְזֶ֔ן | hagarzen | the axe | H1631 → | |
| עַ֖ל | ʾal | above | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַחֹצֵ֣ב | hachotzev | the [one who] cuts | H2672 → | 25 times |
| בּ֑וֹ | bo | with it | ||
| אִם־ | ʾim- | or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יִתְגַּדֵּ֤ל | yitgadel | does it magnify itself | H1431 → | 117 times |
| הַמַּשּׂוֹר֙ | hamasor | the saw | H4883 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | above | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מְנִיפ֔וֹ | menifo | [the] [one who] wields it | H5130 → | 37 times |
| כְּהָנִ֥יף | kehanif | as wields | H5130 → | 37 times |
| שֵׁ֙בֶט֙ | shevet | a rod | H7626 → | 190 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | <and> <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מְרִימָ֔יו | merimav | [those who] lift it | H7311 → | 190 times |
| כְּהָרִ֥ים | keharim | as lifts | H7311 → | 190 times |
| מַטֶּ֖ה | mateh | a staff | H4294 → | 252 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עֵֽץ׃ | ʾetz | wood | H6086 → | 328 times |
הֲיִתְפָּאֵר֙¿ does it glorify itself
hayitpaerH6286 →14 times
הַגַּרְזֶ֔ןthe axe
hagarzenH1631 →
עַ֖לabove
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
הַחֹצֵ֣בthe [one who] cuts
hachotzevH2672 →25 times
בּ֑וֹwith it
bo
אִם־or?
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
יִתְגַּדֵּ֤לdoes it magnify itself
yitgadelH1431 →117 times
הַמַּשּׂוֹר֙the saw
hamasorH4883 →
עַל־above
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מְנִיפ֔וֹ[the] [one who] wields it
menifoH5130 →37 times
כְּהָנִ֥יףas wields
kehanifH5130 →37 times
שֵׁ֙בֶט֙a rod
shevetH7626 →190 times
וְאֶת־<and> <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מְרִימָ֔יו[those who] lift it
merimavH7311 →190 times
כְּהָרִ֥יםas lifts
keharimH7311 →190 times
מַטֶּ֖הa staff
matehH4294 →252 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
עֵֽץ׃wood
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 45:9Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?
it leads to
- Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 9:20–21
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
- Jeremiah 18:6
“O house of Israel, declares the LORD, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of…
- Isaiah 29:16
You have turned things upside down, as if the potter were regarded as clay. Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pottery say of…
- Isaiah 64:8
Through
Isaiah 29:16You have turned things upside down, as if the potter were regarded as clay. Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pottery say of…
it leads to
- Romans 9:19–21
One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?”
- Isaiah 45:9–11
Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?
- Psalms 94:8–9
Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise?
- Jeremiah 18:1–10
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
- Romans 9:19–21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Aphrahat the Persian Sage, DEMONSTRATION 5:4; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pachomius the Great, LETTER 4:4 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.