10
Idols and the True God
1Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.
2Thus says the Lord:
⚓“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For ⚓one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4They decorate it with silver and gold;
They ⚓fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
5They are upright, like a palm tree,
And ⚓they cannot speak;
They must be ⚓carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For ⚓they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”
6Inasmuch as there is none ⚓like You, O Lord
(You are great, and Your name is great in might),
7⚓Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
For this is Your rightful due.
For ⚓among all the wise men of the nations,
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
8But they are altogether ⚓dull-hearted and foolish;
A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.
9Silver is beaten into plates;
It is brought from Tarshish,
And ⚓gold from Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman
And of the hands of the metalsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing;
They are all ⚓the work of skillful men.
10But the Lordis the true God;
He is⚓the living God and the ⚓everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble,
And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
11Thus you shall say to them: ⚓“The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth ⚓shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”
12He ⚓has made the earth by His power,
He has ⚓established the world by His wisdom,
And ⚓has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
13⚓When He utters His voice,
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:
⚓“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”
14⚓Everyone is ⚓dull-hearted, without knowledge;
⚓Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;
⚓For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.
15They are futile, a work of errors;
In the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16⚓The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
For He is the Maker of all things,
And ⚓Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
⚓The Lord of hosts is His name.
The Coming Captivity of Judah
17⚓Gather up your wares from the land,
O inhabitant of the fortress!
18For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will ⚓throw out at this time
The inhabitants of the land,
And will distress them,
⚓That they may find it so.”
19⚓Woe is me for my hurt!
My wound is severe.
But I say, ⚓“Truly this is an infirmity,
And ⚓I must bear it.”
20⚓My tent is plundered,
And all my cords are broken;
My children have gone from me,
And they are⚓no more.
There is no one to pitch my tent anymore,
Or set up my curtains.
21For the shepherds have become dull-hearted,
And have not sought the Lord;
Therefore they shall not prosper,
And all their flocks shall be ⚓scattered.
22Behold, the noise of the report has come,
And a great commotion out of the ⚓north country,
To make the cities of Judah desolate, a ⚓den of jackals.
23O Lord, I know the ⚓way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
24O Lord, ⚓correct me, but with justice;
Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.
25⚓Pour out Your fury on the Gentiles, ⚓who do not know You,
And on the families who do not call on Your name;
For they have eaten up Jacob,
⚓Devoured him and consumed him,
And made his dwelling place desolate.