Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageHe goes and cuts down cedars — or chooses a cypress or an oak — letting it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine, and the rain makes it flourish.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GHe cuts down cedars for himself, takes a tirzah-tree or an oak, and lets it grow strong among the forest trees; he plants a pine, and the rains cause it to grow.
KJV
King James VersionHe 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.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleHe cuts down cedars or retrieves a cypress or oak. He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.
Footnotes
The tree species here are somewhat uncertain. *Tirzah* (תִּרְזָה) is unidentified beyond this single occurrence — possibly a cypress, holm oak, or plane tree. *Oren* (אֹרֶן) is most plausibly rendered 'pine' or 'fir.' FOG retains 'tirzah' to signal the uncertainty and preserve the texture of the original; FOG Message uses 'cypress' as the most plausible identification. The theological point transcends the botany: the tree grows by rain — by YHWH's own provision — and is then cut down to become a god. The creature worships what grew only by the Creator's gift.
