_Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the
battle bow, out of him every oppressor together._
The words _corner_, _nail_, and _oppressor_, must be rather perplexing to
the English reader, nor can the Hebrew scholar be certain of the precise
meaning of each, though their general import is obvious enough. Thus פנה
(or הנפ) _corner_, signifies in the root to _turn_, and as the _corner
stone_ is a guide to the builder in laying the others, it comes to signify
a guide or leader. So יתד (or דתי), _a nail_, signifies one on whom others
depend. And נוגש (or שגונ), _an oppressor_, like the Greek τυραννος,
signifies generally, _a prince_, as well as a _tyrant_. Thus these terms
are each of them equivalent to a _chief_ or _leader_.
The verb יצא (or אצי), which follows, may be either past or future, but
the latter accords best with the context, as in the proposed translation.
_Out of him shall come forth the corner-stone, __ out of him the nail, out
of him the battle bow, out of him every leader together._