Isaiah 10:15
King James Version
8 Jun 2026
“Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.”
שֵׁבֶט
The shepherd's rod was not for the sheep — it was for predators. The staff was for guiding and steadying the sheep on narrow paths. David walks through the valley of the shadow of death and takes comfort not in the absence of danger, but in the presence of the shepherd's tools. God is equipped for what lies ahead of you.
מַטֶּה
a staff
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מַטֶּה
a branch (as extending); figuratively, a tribe; also a rod, whether for chastising (figuratively, correction), ruling (a sceptre), throwing (a lance), or walking (a staff; figuratively, a support of life, e.g. bread)
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נוּף
the one who wields/ it
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נוּף
to quiver (i.e. vibrate up and down, or rock to and fro); used in a great variety of applications (including sprinkling, beckoning, rubbing, bastinadoing, sawing, waving, etc.)
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עֵץ
wood
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עֵץ
Tree. Ets. A tree planted by rivers of water. The righteous person is like a tree with deep roots in God's word, bearing fruit in season and never withering.
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רוּם
those who lift/ it
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רוּם
To be high, to be exalted, to rise. Ruwm. I dwell on a high and holy place but also with the contrite. God is both transcendent and intimately near.
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עַל
above
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עַל
above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
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גָּדַל
does it magnify itself
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גָּדַל
to be (causatively make) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride)
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