Isaiah 44:12-14

Easy-to-Read Version

¹² One worker uses his tools to heat iron over hot coals. Then he uses his hammer to beat the metal to shape it into a statue. He uses his own powerful arms, but when he gets hungry, he loses his strength. If he does not drink water, he becomes weak.

¹³ Another worker uses his string line^[a] and compass^[b] to draw lines on the wood to show where he should cut. Then he uses his chisels^[c] and cuts a statue from the wood. He uses his calipers^[d] to measure the statue. In this way the worker makes the wood look exactly like a man, and this statue of a man does nothing but sit in the house.

¹⁴ To split the cedar tree, the worker took some oak or cypress wedges. To make sure he had plenty of wood, he planted some pines. But it was the rain that made them grow.