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Isaiah 44:12-20
King James Version
Isaiah 44:12-20
King James Version
12 The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.
13 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.
14 He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.
15 Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.
16 He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:
17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.
18 They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
19 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
20 He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
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Isaiah 44:12-20
New International Version
Isaiah 44:12-20
New International Version
12 The blacksmith(A) takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.(B)
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.(C)
13 The carpenter(D) measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in human form,(E)
human form in all its glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.(F)
14 He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine,(G) and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel(H) for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships(I) it;
he makes an idol and bows(J) down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.(K)”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.(L)
He prays(M) to it and says,
“Save(N) me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand(O) nothing;
their eyes(P) are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding(Q) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;(R)
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable(S) thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”(T)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;(U) a deluded(V) heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?(W)”
Isaiah 44:12-20
English Standard Version
Isaiah 44:12-20
English Standard Version
12 (A)The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.[a] He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. (B)He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 (C)He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. (D)He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an (E)abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 (F)He feeds on (G)ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not (H)a lie in my right hand?”
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- Isaiah 44:13 Hebrew stylus
Isaiah 44:12-20
Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 44:12-20
Christian Standard Bible
12 The ironworker labors over the coals,
shapes the idol with hammers,
and works it with his strong arm.
Also he grows hungry and his strength fails;
he doesn’t drink water and is faint.
13 The woodworker stretches out a measuring line,
he outlines it with a stylus;
he shapes it with chisels
and outlines it with a compass.
He makes it according to a human form,(A)
like a beautiful person,
to dwell in a temple.
14 He cuts down[a] cedars for his use,
or he takes a cypress or an oak.
He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.
15 A person can use it for fuel.
He takes some of it and warms himself;
also he kindles a fire and bakes bread;
he even makes it into a god and worships it;
he makes an idol from it and bows down to it.
16 He burns half of it in a fire,
and he roasts meat on that half.
He eats the roast and is satisfied.
He warms himself and says, “Ah!
I am warm, I see the blaze.”
17 He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.
He bows down to it and worships;
he prays to it,(B) “Save me, for you are my god.”
18 Such people[b] do not comprehend
and cannot understand,
for he has shut their eyes[c] so they cannot see,
and their minds so they cannot understand.
19 No one comes to his senses;[d]
no one has the perception or insight to say,
“I burned half of it in the fire,
I also baked bread on its coals,
I roasted meat and ate.
Should I make something detestable(C) with the rest of it?
Should I bow down to a block of wood?”
20 He feeds on[e] ashes.
His deceived mind has led him astray,
and he cannot rescue himself,
or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?” (D)
Isaiah 44:12-20
New American Standard Bible 1995
Isaiah 44:12-20
New American Standard Bible 1995
12 The (A)man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, [a]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and [b]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 (B)Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of (C)man, so that it may sit in a (D)house. 14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a [c]cypress or an oak and [d]raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also (E)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and (F)falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 But the rest of it he (G)makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also (H)prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”
18 They do not (I)know, nor do they understand, for He has (J)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one [e]recalls, nor is there (K)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then [f]I make the rest of it into an (L)abomination, [g]I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He [h](M)feeds on ashes; a (N)deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver [i]himself, nor say, “(O)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 44:12 Lit and fashions
- Isaiah 44:12 Lit there is no strength
- Isaiah 44:14 Or holm-oak
- Isaiah 44:14 Lit makes strong
- Isaiah 44:19 Lit returns to his heart
- Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I make?
- Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I fall...?
- Isaiah 44:20 Or is a companion of ashes
- Isaiah 44:20 Lit his soul
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.