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Shall the ax boast itself against him who hews therewith? Shall the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? as if a rod should wield those who lift it up, [or] as if a staff should lift up [him who is] not wood.
Verse Takeaways
1
A Tool in God's Hand
All commentators agree that this verse uses powerful metaphors (axe, saw, rod) to illustrate a core truth: human powers, even mighty empires like Assyria, are merely instruments in God's hands. For a king or nation to boast of their own strength is as absurd as an axe boasting against the one who swings it. All power and success ultimately originate from God, the wielder.
See 3 Verse Takeaways
Book Overview
Isaiah
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6
18th Century
Presbyterian
Shall the axe... — In this verse, God reproves the pride and arrogance of the Assyrian monarch. He does this by reminding him that …
19th Century
Anglican
Shall the ax boast itself ...? —The words spoken by the prophet as the mouthpiece of Jehovah remind us of the way in whic…
16th Century
Protestant
Shall the axe boast? He now ridicules more strongly the mad effrontery of the Assyrians in imagining that he could create mountains of gol…
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17th Century
Reformed Baptist
Shall the axe boast itself against him that hews therewith &c.] Hitherto are the words of the Assyrian monarch; and here begin…
See what a change sin made. The king of Assyria, in his pride, thought to act by his own will. The tyrants of the world are tools of Providence. Go…
13th Century
Catholic
1. Woe to them that make wicked laws. Here he begins to threaten the foreign enemies who persecute them physically.
He threa…
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