Isaiah 9:10 (ASV)

Passage

The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stone; the sycomores are cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 9:8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

Isaiah 9:9 And all the people shall know, [even] Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in pride and in stoutness of heart,

Isaiah 9:10 The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stone; the sycomores are cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.

Isaiah 9:11 Therefore Jehovah will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and will stir up his enemies,

Isaiah 9:12 the Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bricks", "fallen", "build", "hewn", "stone", "sycomores", "down", and "cedars". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bricks" and "fallen", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "And all the people shall know even..." into verse 11's "Therefore Jehovah will set up on high...", so "bricks" and "fallen" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "bricks" and "fallen" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.