Isaiah 44:12-14

Common English Bible

¹² A blacksmith with his tools
    works it over coals,
    and shapes it with hammers,
    and works it with his strong arm.
He even becomes hungry and weak.
    If he didn’t drink water, he’d pass out.
¹³ A carpenter stretches out a string,
    marks it out with a stylus,
    fashions it with carving tools,
    and marks it with a compass.
He makes it into a human form,
    like a splendid human,
    to live in a temple.
¹⁴ He cuts down cedars for himself,
    or chooses a cypress^[a] or oak,
    selecting from all the trees of the forest.
    He plants a pine,^[b] and the rain makes it grow.