The wording of this verse in the original is very obscure; and we can only say of the rendering in the text that it seems to be preferred to any which it has been proposed to substitute for it. The mention of cutting wood in the preceding verse suggests the illustration from the axe, exemplifying how wisdom will serve instead of strength.
Iron. — 2 Kings 6:5; Isaiah 10:34; Proverbs 27:17.
Whet. — Ezekiel 21:21, where it is translated “make bright.”
Edge. — Literally, face. We have often in Hebrew “mouth of the sword,” for edge of the sword, but the only parallel for the expression “face” in that sense is in the highly poetical passage in Ezekiel 21:16, just referred to.
Must he put to more strength. — “Make his strength mighty,” the words being nearly the same as in the phrase “mighty men of strength” (1 Chronicles 7:5).