“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.”
The irony deepens: 'He cuts down cedars; or he chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man; he takes a part of it and warms himself, kindles a fire and bakes bread'—shows that the same tree that might become an idol also serves mundane needs. The progression from forest growth to warming, fire-kindling, and bread-baking creates a picture of wood's ordinary utility. The juxtaposition of these functions with idol-making suggests that humans make arbitrary choices about which wood becomes sacred and which becomes fuel. This verse ridicules the emptiness of idolatry's significance.
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