Isaiah 44:12 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-20

Often before, God, by the prophet, had mentioned the folly and strange sottishness of idolaters; but here he enlarges upon that head, and very fully and particularly exposes them to contempt and ridicule. This discourse is intended, 1. To arm the people of Israel against the strong temptation they would be in to worship idols when they were captives in Babylon, in compliance with the custom of the country (they being far from the city of their own solemnities) and to humour those who were now... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 44:12

The smith with the tongs ,.... Or, "the worker of iron" F3 חרש ברזל "faber ferri", Pagninus, Montanus; "faber ferrarius", V. L. Vitringa. ; the blacksmith, who had a concern in making of idols, for some were made of iron, Daniel 5:4 , or in making plates to cover them, or nails to fasten them with, or instruments which the carpenter made use of in cutting down trees, and fitting the wood for an image; such as the axe or hatchet, or plane, and which some think is here meant, by... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 44:12

The smith with the tongs, etc. "The smith cutteth off a portion of iron" - מעצד meatstsed , Participium Pihel of עצד atsad , to cut; still used in that sense in the Arabic. See Simonis Lex. Hebrews The Septuagint and Syriac take the word in this form: but they render it sharpeneth the iron. See Castell. Lex. in voce. The sacred writers are generally large and eloquent upon the subject of idolatry; they treat it with great severity, and set forth the absurdity of it in the strongest... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:6-20

A FURTHER CONTRAST OF GOD WITH IDOLS . The captive Jews, dwelling scattered in a land the inhabitants of which were, one and all, idolaters, and having by hereditary taint an inclination to idolatry, would be easily tempted, during the long and weary period of the Captivity, to put away the worship and even the thought of Jehovah, who had allowed their subjugation, and conform to the religion of their conquerors. Hence the repeated contrasts in these later chapters—specially... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:6-28

Jehovah and the images. I. SELF - MANIFESTATION OF JEHOVAH . He is the First and the Last, Alpha and Omega. Existing before the creation, he will endure when it shall have passed away ( Isaiah 48:12 ). It is a thought which strikes us at once by its sublimity, anal, what is better, with its truth. Men sometimes speak of the material world as real, of the world of faith and imagination as dreamy. Not so the greatest prophets and poets. Shakespeare describes the globe and all its... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-18

The irrational and the religions, This passage is interesting, as containing the most pungent and effective sarcasm in holy writ. There are indeed the finest conceivable materials for the sarcastic in the practice of idolatry; i.e. in all those cases in which idolatry has sunk into its lowest stage. Where a statue is understood to be nothing more than the memorial or visible representation of the Divine, the language of the Hebrew prophet would not apply; but where it is regarded, as it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-20

The uniqueness of God having been set forth, the prophet now turns to the images and the image-makers, overwhelming them with his scorn and ridicule. The passage may be compared with Jeremiah 10:3-10 and Baruch 6:8-72. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-20

The utter folly of all kinds of idolatry. Idolatry proper—the actual worship of images—is felt by modern Englishmen to be so extreme a folly that they have a difficulty in believing it to have at any time been, or still anywhere to be, the actual religion of a people. Their inclination is to regard it as a symbolism—coarse and ill-judged, perhaps—but yet a well-meaning symbolism, expressive of the truths of natural religion. But research into the past history of mankind, and investigation of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:12

The smith with the tongs . The Hebrew text is defective, some word having fallen out. We should probably supply "maketh," and translate, The smith maketh an axe , and worketh it in the coals , and with hammers fashioneth it. The description of image-making thus commences with the fashioning of the carpenter's tools. He is hungry , etc. The artificer who takes the first step in "forming a god" ( Isaiah 44:10 ) is himself hungry and thirsty, depending on so mean a thing as food to... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 44:12

The smith with the tongs - The prophet proceeds here to show the folly and absurdity of idolatry; and in order to this he goes into an extended statement Isaiah 44:12-19 of the manner in which idols were usually made. Lowth remarks, ‘The sacred writers are generally large and eloquent on the subject of idolatry; they treat it with great severity, and set forth the absurdity of it in the strongest light. But this passage of Isaiah far exceeds anything that was ever written on the subject, in... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-20

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 44:12

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 44:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:6-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:6-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:12

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 44:12

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