He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
Someone who is too poor to afford a proper sacrifice chooses a piece of wood that won't decay. He finds a skilled craftsman to carve an idol that won't fall over.
The writer is describing how even poor people go to great lengths to create fake gods, showing how desperately humans cling to idols instead of trusting the true God.
📚 Historical Context
Isaiah was writing to the Israelites during a time when they were surrounded by nations that worshiped carved idols made of wood, stone, and metal. Even when people couldn't afford expensive materials like gold or silver for their idols, they would still invest their limited resources in creating wooden gods. This was part of Isaiah's larger argument contrasting the powerless handmade idols of the nations with the living God of Israel.
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