Isaiah 44:13-16

Isaiah 44:13-16. The carpenter stretched 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. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it he for a man to burn; for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image and falleth down thereto.

It has often happened that, when this passage has been read in the hearing of idolaters, they have been convinced by it of their folly. It is a very simple description of what takes place in an idol-maker’s workshop; yet, simple as it is, it shows the absurdity of the idea of worshipping that which can be made by man’s hands.