Isaiah 10:15 BSB — MannaFest

Isaiah 10:15

Does 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

Parallel translations (2) ▾

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.

⋯

Commentary

4 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah (420)

(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?'

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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 Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

18 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
הֲיִתְפָּאֵר֙	ha.yit.pa.'Er	¿ does it glorify itself	H6286 →
הַגַּרְזֶ֔ן	ha.gar.Zen	the axe	H1631 →
עַ֖ל	'al	above	H5921 →
הַחֹצֵ֣ב	ha.cho.Tzev	the [one who] cuts	H2672 →
בּ֑וֹ	bo	with it
אִם־	'im-	or?	H518 →
יִתְגַּדֵּ֤ל	yit.ga.Del	does it magnify itself	H1431 →
הַמַּשּׂוֹר֙	ha.ma.sOr	the saw	H4883 →
עַל־	'al-	above	H5921 →
מְנִיפ֔וֹ	me.ni.Fo	[the] [one who] wields it	H5130 →
כְּהָנִ֥יף	ke.ha.Nif	as wields	H5130 →
שֵׁ֙בֶט֙	she.vet	a rod	H7626 →
וְאֶת־	ve.'Et	<and> <obj.>	H853 →
מְרִימָ֔יו	me.ri.Mav	[those who] lift it	H7311 →
כְּהָרִ֥ים	ke.ha.Rim	as lifts	H7311 →
מַטֶּ֖ה	ma.Teh	a staff	H4294 →
לֹא־	lo'-	not	H3808 →
עֵֽץ׃	'Etz	wood	H6086 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Isaiah 45:9
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’?
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 independent 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…
Through
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…
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:

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through Isaiah 10

The Remnant — she'erith

Open the study →

Walks through Isaiah 10

The Yoke

Open the study →

Walks through Isaiah 10

Unto Us a Child Is Born

Open the study →

About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Isaiah: the study guide →Read chapter 10 →The featured study →

Continue: Isaiah 10 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Isaiah

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Isaiah