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.
The carpenter takes out his measuring stick and marks the wood with a line. He shapes it with his tools and uses a compass to outline it, making it look like a person—a beautiful human figure—so it can sit in someone's house.
This verse describes how people carefully craft wooden idols to look like beautiful humans, then place them in their homes to worship.
📚 Historical Context
Isaiah was writing during a time when idol worship was common throughout the ancient Near East, including among some Israelites. People would carve statues from wood or stone to represent their gods, often making them in human form because they believed gods looked like idealized humans. This verse is part of Isaiah's larger critique of the foolishness of worshiping handmade objects instead of the living God.
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