13 The woodworker extends a measuring line; he marks it out with a stylus; he shapes it with chisels and outlines it with a compass. He fashions it in the likeness of man, like man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. 14 He cuts down cedars or retrieves a cypress or oak. He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow. 15 It serves as fuel for man. He takes some of it to warm himself, and he kindles a fire and bakes his bread; he even fashions it into a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. 16 He burns half of it in the fire, and he roasts meat on that half. He eats the roast and is satisfied. Indeed, he warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.” 17 From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.” 18 They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand. 19 And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
Isaiah 44:13–19
Semantically similar passages
Isaiah 40:19–21
19 To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains? 20 To one bereft of an offering who chooses wood that will not rot, who seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple? 21 Do you not know? Have you…
Habakkuk 2:18–20
18 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. 19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold,… 20 …
Ezekiel 15:3–5
3 Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can one make from it a peg on which to hang utensils? 4 No, it is cast into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends, and the middle is charred. Can it be useful for anything? 5 Even when it was whole, it…
Isaiah 27:10–12
10 For the fortified city lies deserted— a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken. There the calves graze, and there they lie down; they strip its branches bare. 11 When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a… 12 …
Isaiah 46:6–8
6 They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship. 7 They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging fro…
Jeremiah 10:7–9
7 Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. 8 But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood! 9 Hammered silver…
Deuteronomy 4:27–29
27 Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. 28 And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you wi…
Wisdom of Solomon 13:12–14
12 Burning the scraps from his handiwork to cook his food, he eats his fill. (WEB) 13 Taking a discarded scrap which served no purpose, a crooked piece of wood and full of knots, he carves it with the diligence of his idleness, and shapes it by the skill of his idleness.… (WEB) 14 … (WEB)
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