isaiah 44:14 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.

isaiah 44:14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak, and raises [it] for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow.

14. Description of the material out of which the idol is formed.
cypress--rather, from Hebrew root, "to be hard," the holm oak," an evergreen abundant in Palestine [GESENIUS].
strengtheneth--literally, "and he getteth strength to himself in the trees of the forest;" that is, he layeth in a great store of timber [LOWTH]. Or, "chooseth," as "madest strong for thyself," that is, hast chosen (Ps 80:15, 17) [GESENIUS]. But English Version gives a good sense: "strengtheneth"; that is, rears to maturity; a meaning suitable also to the context of Ps 80:15, 17, where Israel is compared to a vine planted by Jehovah [MAURER].
rain doth nourish it--Though the man planted the tree, yet he could not make it grow. In preparing to make an idol, he has to depend on the true God for rain from heaven (Jer 14:22).

isaiah 44:14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak, and raises [it] for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow.

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