Devine Scripture

Isaiah 41:7

What does Isaiah 41:7 mean?

A plain-English look at Isaiah 41:7 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Isaiah 41:7 means

Artisans collaborate to strengthen their idols, with the carpenter encouraging the goldsmith and the hammer-wielder affirming the work of the one striking the anvil. They meticulously review the soldering, declaring it good, and secure the idol with nails to prevent it from moving. This detailed description underscores their desperate efforts to create stable, immovable gods, betraying the inherent weakness and lifelessness of such objects—gods that require human effort to stand and cannot move on their own.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

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

King James Version · 1611

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.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

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.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

So the metal-worker put heart into the gold-worker, and he who was hammering the metal smooth said kind words to the iron-worker, saying of the plate, It is ready: and he put it together with nails, so that there might be no slipping.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

And strengthen doth an artisan the refiner, A smoother <FI>with<Fi> a hammer, Him who is beating <FI>on<Fi> an anvil, Saying, `For joining it <FI>is<Fi> good,' And he strengtheneth it with nails, it is not moved!

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

The coppersmith striking with the hammer encouraged him that forged at that time, saying: It is ready for soldering: and he strengthened it with nails, that it should not be moved.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

And the artizan encouraged the founder, he that smootheth [with] the hammer him that smiteth on the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that it be not moved.

Context

Building on the mutual encouragement of verse 6, this verse vividly portrays the collective, laborious effort of idol makers. It exposes the futility and irony of human hands creating a god that then needs to be fastened down, highlighting the stark contrast with the living, active God of Israel. This scene immediately precedes God's tender address to His servant Israel, underscoring the immense difference in their respective relationships with the divine.

v.6They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage.

v.7This passage

v.8But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend,

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Jeremiah 10:3

    For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe.

  • Judges 18:24

    And he said, ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and are gone away, and what have I more? and how then say ye unto me, What aileth thee?

  • Judges 18:17

    And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war.

  • Isaiah 44:12

    The smithmakethan axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint.

  • Isaiah 40:19

    The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains.

  • Daniel 3:1

    Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

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