The Meaning of Isaiah 44:13 Explained

Isaiah 44:13

KJV: The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.

YLT: He hath wrought with wood, He hath stretched out a rule, He doth mark it out with a line, He maketh it with carving tools, And with a compass he marketh it out, And maketh it according to the form of a man, According to the beauty of a man, To remain in the house.

Darby: The worker in wood stretcheth out a line; he marketh it out with red chalk; he formeth it with sharp tools, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of man: that it may remain in the house.

ASV: The carpenter stretcheth out a line; he marketh it out with a pencil; he shapeth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compasses, and shapeth it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The carpenter  stretcheth out  [his] rule;  he marketh it out  with a line;  he fitteth  it with planes,  and he marketh it out  with the compass,  and maketh  it after the figure  of a man,  according to the beauty  of a man;  that it may remain  in the house. 

What does Isaiah 44:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Idol-making is a complex process involving many steps and requiring much activity and some human skill. The whole idea is to create a god in the closest possible likeness to Prayer of Manasseh , supposedly the highest form of life, complete with man"s needs. Here a carpenter rather than a blacksmith is the craftsman. The type of craftsman really does not matter since any human will do. One idol may be in view in Isaiah 44:12-13, first carved out of wood and then adorned with metal, or Isaiah may have had in mind two different idols, one metal and the other wood.
"We have not progressed beyond that today. The doctrine called humanism is only an abstract form of this age-old effort. We will be God, and God will be us." [1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 44:12-20 - The Folly Of Idolatry
We are here conducted to a metal idol factory, Isaiah 44:12. As we enter, we are forewarned that we shall find the workmen vain, and their delectable things unprofitable. With this caution, we watch the image being made beneath the heavy blows of the hammer, wielded by the swarthy smith. After a few hours of work he becomes tired and thirsty. But surely an idol can never impart perennial energy and help, if its manufacturer is so easily exhausted.
Next, we are led into a factory of wooden idols, Isaiah 44:13, where a carpenter is at work, drawing a pattern on a block of timber. The floor is littered with shavings, and the idol that is to receive worship and exercise authority is handled very unceremoniously. Lastly we follow an individual into the forest, where he saws part of a tree for firewood and the rest for his household effigy. What folly! These men are hungry for some object of worship, but they feed their hunger on ashes; and they cannot be made to realize that they are deceiving themselves. The true bread is Christ. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 44

1  God comforts the church with his promises
7  The vanity of idols
9  And folly of idol makers
21  He exhorts to praise God for his redemption and omnipotence

What do the individual words in Isaiah 44:13 mean?

Woodworker the craftsman stretches out [his] rule He marks one out with chalk He fashions it with a plane and with the compass He marks it out and makes it like the figure of a man According to the beauty of a man that it may remain in the house
חָרַ֣שׁ עֵצִים֮ נָ֣טָה קָו֒ יְתָאֲרֵ֣הוּ בַשֶּׂ֔רֶד יַעֲשֵׂ֙הוּ֙ בַּמַּקְצֻע֔וֹת וּבַמְּחוּגָ֖ה יְתָאֳרֵ֑הוּ וַֽיַּעֲשֵׂ֙הוּ֙ כְּתַבְנִ֣ית אִ֔ישׁ כְּתִפְאֶ֥רֶת אָדָ֖ם לָשֶׁ֥בֶת בָּֽיִת

חָרַ֣שׁ  Woodworker 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חָרַשׁ 
Sense: to cut in, plough, engrave, devise.
עֵצִים֮  the  craftsman 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: עֵץ  
Sense: tree, wood, timber, stock, plank, stalk, stick, gallows.
נָ֣טָה  stretches  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָטָה 
Sense: to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow.
קָו֒  [his]  rule 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָו 
Sense: cord, line, measuring-line.
יְתָאֲרֵ֣הוּ  He  marks  one  out 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: תָּאַר 
Sense: (Qal) to be drawn, incline, delineate, extend.
בַשֶּׂ֔רֶד  with  chalk 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׂרֶד  
Sense: stylus, a line, marker.
יַעֲשֵׂ֙הוּ֙  He  fashions  it 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
בַּמַּקְצֻע֔וֹת  with  a  plane 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: מַקְצֻעָה  
Sense: scraping tool (used in fashioning idols).
וּבַמְּחוּגָ֖ה  and  with  the  compass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְחוּגָה  
Sense: circle-instrument, compass.
יְתָאֳרֵ֑הוּ  He  marks  it  out 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: תָּאַר 
Sense: (Qal) to be drawn, incline, delineate, extend.
וַֽיַּעֲשֵׂ֙הוּ֙  and  makes  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
כְּתַבְנִ֣ית  like  the  figure 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: תַּבְנִית  
Sense: pattern, plan, form, construction, figure.
אִ֔ישׁ  of  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
כְּתִפְאֶ֥רֶת  According  to  the  beauty 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: תִּפְאֶרֶת  
Sense: beauty, splendour, glory.
אָדָ֖ם  of  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
לָשֶׁ֥בֶת  that  it  may  remain 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בָּֽיִת  in  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.