Isaiah 41:7
in Isaiah 41The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who wields the hammer cheers him who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “It is good.” He nails it down so it will not be toppled.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that it should not be moved.
KJV
So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
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This verse in Isaiah 41
Commentary
10 notes on this verseLook, [Isaiah] says, what the newcomers to the truth say to those who are still held prisoner to the error of idols, to show them their impotence: idols can neither walk nor hold themselves up without being fastened with nails. As for the phrase "it …
This site's exposition
The isles saw it, and feared
on Isaiah 41:5-7
The nations react to the evidence with fear rather than faith, the isles saw it and feared, the ends of the earth drawing near in alarm rather than trust. Their answer to the crisis is not to seek the Lord but to reinforce their idols, encouraging one another, be of good courage, while the carpenter, the goldsmith and the man with the hammer pass an image between them until it is fastened down with nails so that it will not fall. Henry notes the irony sharpened here, a god that must be nailed in place is the nations' answer to a Lord who needs no support at all.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 41, verses 1 and following.) Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations change their strength: let them come near, and then let them speak: let us come together to judgment. Who raised up the Just One from the East, and called him to follow him? He will give nations before him, and he will rule over kings: he will make them like the dust with his sword, and like stubble driven by the wind to his bow. He will pursue them, and he will pass in peace, a path will not appear under his feet.
The Medieval Church2 voices
By mocking those who make the idols, [Isaiah] says, "The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, who strikes with the hammer." That is, even though they know that their hands have made them and that "they fasten them with nails," they are not ashamed to adore them.
Third, he sets out the making of idols: the coppersmith striking the iron with the hammer encouraged him that forged, that formed the figure of the idol, saying: it is ready for soldering, to solidify the idol: setting it in a wall, and fastening it …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith,....
Do sinners thus animate and quicken one another in the ways of sin? And shall not the servants of the living God both stir up one another to, and strengthen one another in, his service?
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He encourages his faithful ones to trust in him, with an assurance that he would take their part against their enemies, make them victorious over them, and bring about a happy change of their affairs,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
So the carpenter - (See the note at Isa 40:19). Encouraged the goldsmith - Margin, ‘The founder’ (see the note at Isa 40:19). The word properly means one who melts or smelts metals of any kind; and may be applied either to one who works in gold, silver, or brass. The image here is that of haste, anxiety, solicitude. One workman in the manufacture of idols encouraged another, in order that the idols might be finished as soon as possible, and that thus the favor of the gods might be propitiated, and the impending danger averted.
That it should not be moved “That it shall not move” - Five MSS., (two ancient), and the ancient Versions, add the conjunction ו vau, “and, “reading ולא velo, “and not, “which seems to be right.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְחַזֵּ֤ק | vaychazek | and he encouraged | H2388 → | 291 times |
| חָרָשׁ֙ | charash | a craftsman | H2796 → | 37 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צֹרֵ֔ף | tzoref | a metalsmith | H6884 → | 33 times |
| מַחֲלִ֥יק | machalik | a smoother of | H2505 → | 65 times |
| פַּטִּ֖ישׁ | patish | a hammer | H6360 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| ה֣וֹלֶם | holem | a striker of | H1986 → | 8 times |
| פָּ֑עַם | paam | an anvil | H6471 → | 118 times |
| אֹמֵ֤ר | ʾomer | saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לַדֶּ֙בֶק֙ | ladevek | of the soldering | H1694 → | |
| ט֣וֹב | tov | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| ה֔וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וַיְחַזְּקֵ֥הוּ | vaychazekehu | and he strengthened it | H2388 → | 291 times |
| בְמַסְמְרִ֖ים | vemasmerim | with nails | H4548 → | |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִמּֽוֹט׃ ס | yimot | it will be shaken | H4131 → | 38 times |
וַיְחַזֵּ֤קand he encouraged
vaychazekH2388 →291 times
חָרָשׁ֙a craftsman
charashH2796 →37 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
צֹרֵ֔ףa metalsmith
tzorefH6884 →33 times
מַחֲלִ֥יקa smoother of
machalikH2505 →65 times
פַּטִּ֖ישׁa hammer
patishH6360 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
ה֣וֹלֶםa striker of
holemH1986 →8 times
פָּ֑עַםan anvil
paamH6471 →118 times
אֹמֵ֤רsaying
ʾomerH559 →5305 times
לַדֶּ֙בֶק֙of the soldering
ladevekH1694 →
ט֣וֹב[is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
ה֔וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וַיְחַזְּקֵ֥הוּand he strengthened it
vaychazekehuH2388 →291 times
בְמַסְמְרִ֖יםwith nails
vemasmerimH4548 →
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִמּֽוֹט׃ סit will be shaken
yimotH4131 →38 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Judges 18:24He replied, “You took the gods I had made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”
it leads to
- Habakkuk 2:18–19
What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
- Isaiah 44:18–20
They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.
- Psalms 115:8
Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.
- Jeremiah 51:17
Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- Revelation 17:2
The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”
- Habakkuk 2:18–19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 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); Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 41:7; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:41.7 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.