Isaiah 40:20

40:20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; ¹ 

he then seeks a skilled craftsman

to make ²  an idol that will not fall over.

Isaiah 41:7

41:7 The craftsman encourages the metalsmith,

the one who wields the hammer encourages ³  the one who pounds on the anvil.

He approves the quality of the welding, ⁴ 

and nails it down so it won’t fall over.”

Isaiah 44:12-13

44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool ⁵ 

and forges metal over the coals.

He forms it ⁶  with hammers;

he makes it with his strong arm.

He gets hungry and loses his energy; ⁷ 

he drinks no water and gets tired.

44:13 A carpenter takes measurements; ⁸ 

he marks out an outline of its form; ⁹ 

he scrapes ¹⁰  it with chisels,

and marks it with a compass.

He patterns it after the human form, ¹¹ 

like a well-built human being,

and puts it in a shrine. ¹² 

Isaiah 54:16

54:16 Look, I create the craftsman,

who fans the coals into a fire

and forges a weapon. ¹³ 

I create the destroyer so he might devastate.

[40:20]  ¹ tn The first two words of the verse (הַמְסֻכָּן תְּרוּמָה, hamsukan tÿrumah) are problematic. Some take מְסֻכָּן as an otherwise unattested Pual participle from סָכַן (sakhan, “be poor”) and translate “the one who is impoverished.” תְּרוּמָה (tÿrumah, “contribution”) can then be taken as an adverbial accusative, “with respect to a contribution,” and the entire line translated, “the one who is too impoverished for such a contribution [i.e., the metal idol of v. 19?] selects wood that will not rot.” However, מְסֻכָּן is probably the name of a tree used in idol manufacturing (cognate with Akkadian musukkanu, cf. H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 133). מְסֻכָּן may be a scribal interpretive addition attempting to specify עֵץ (’ets) or עֵץ may be a scribal attempt to categorize מְסֻכָּן. How an idol constitutes a תְּרוּמָה (“contribution”) is not entirely clear.

[40:20]  ² tn Or “set up” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NASB “to prepare.”

[41:7]  ³ tn The verb “encourages” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[41:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “saying of the welding, ‘It is good.’”

[44:12]  ⁵ tn The noun מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad), which refers to some type of tool used for cutting, occurs only here and in Jer 10:3. See HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד.

[44:12]  ⁶ tn Some English versions take the pronoun “it” to refer to an idol being fashioned by the blacksmith (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV). NLT understands the referent to be “a sharp tool,” which is then used by the carpenter in the following verse to carve an idol from wood.

[44:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “and there is no strength”; NASB “his strength fails.”

[44:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “stretches out a line” (ASV similar); NIV “measures with a line.”

[44:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “he makes an outline with the [?].” The noun שֶׂרֶד (shered) occurs only here; it apparently refers to some type of tool or marker. Cf. KJV “with a line”; ASV “with a pencil”; NAB, NRSV “with a stylus”; NASB “with red chalk”; NIV “with a marker.”

[44:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “works” (so NASB) or “fashions” (so NRSV); NIV “he roughs it out.”

[44:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he makes it like the pattern of a man”; NAB “like a man in appearance.”

[44:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like the glory of man to sit [in] a house”; NIV “that it may dwell in a shrine.”

[54:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “who brings out an implement for his work.”