Isaiah 41:7 (YLT)

Passage

And strengthen doth an artisan the refiner, A smoother <FI>with<Fi> a hammer, Him who is beating <FI>on<Fi> an anvil, Saying, `For joining it <FI>is<Fi> good,' And he strengtheneth it with nails, it is not moved!

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:5 Seen have isles and fear, ends of the earth tremble, They have drawn near, yea, they come.

Isaiah 41:6 Each his neighbour they help, And to his brother he saith, `Be strong.'

Isaiah 41:7 And strengthen doth an artisan the refiner, A smoother <FI>with<Fi> a hammer, Him who is beating <FI>on<Fi> an anvil, Saying, `For joining it <FI>is<Fi> good,' And he strengtheneth it with nails, it is not moved!

Isaiah 41:8 --And thou, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Seed of Abraham, My lover,

Isaiah 41:9 Whom I have taken hold of, from the ends of the earth, And from its near places I have called thee, And I say to thee, My servant Thou <FI>art<Fi> , I have chosen thee, and not rejected thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "strengthen", "doth", "artisan", "refiner", "smoother", "hammer", "beating", and "anvil". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "strengthen" and "doth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Each his neighbour they help And to..." into verse 8's "And thou O Israel My servant Jacob...", so "strengthen" and "doth" 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 "strengthen" and "doth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.