Online Bible

Yahweh Alone Is the Living God

Hear the word which Yahweh speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says Yahweh,“^aDo not learn the way of the nations,And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavensAlthough the nations are terrified by them;

3 For the statutes of the peoples are ^avanityBecause ^bit is wood cut from the forest,The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.4 “They ^amake it beautiful with silver and with gold;They ^bstrengthen it with nails and with hammersSo that it will not totter.5 “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,And they ^acannot speak;They must be ^bcarriedBecause they cannot take a step!Do not fear them,For they ^ccan do no harm,Nor can they do any good.”

6 ^aThere is none like You, O Yahweh;You are ^bgreat, and great is Your name in might.7 ^aWho would not fear You, O ^bKing of the nations?Indeed it is Your due!For among all the ^cwise men of the nationsAnd in all their kingdoms,There is none like You.8 But they are altogether ^asenseless and foolish;They are in a discipline of ¹vanities—it is mere wood!9 Beaten ^asilver is brought from ^bTarshish,And ^cgold from Uphaz,The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;Blue and purple are their clothing;They are all the ^dwork of wise craftsmen.10 But Yahweh is the ^atrue God;He is the ^bliving God and the ^ceverlasting King.At His wrath the ^dearth quakes,And the nations cannot ^eendure His indignation.

11 ¹Thus you shall say to them, “The ^agods that did not make the heavens and the earth will ^bperish from the earth and from under ²the heavens.”

12 It is ^aHe who made the earth by His power,Who ^bestablished the world by His wisdom;And by His understanding He has ^cstretched out the heavens.13 When He gives forth His ^avoice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,And He causes the ^bclouds to ascend from the end of the earth;He makes lightning for the rain,And brings out the ^cwind from His storehouses.14 Every man is ^asenseless, devoid of knowledge;Every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven images;For his molten images are a lie,And there is no breath in them.15 They are ^avanity, a work of mockery;In the ^btime of their punishment they will perish.16 The ^aportion of Jacob is not like these;For the ¹^bMaker of all is He,And ^cIsrael is the tribe of His inheritance;^dYahweh of hosts is His name.

17 ^aGather up your bundle from the ground,You who inhabit a land under siege!

18 For thus says Yahweh,“Behold, I am ^aslinging out the inhabitants of the landAt this time,And will cause them distress,That they may find it.”

19 ^aWoe is me, because of my ¹injury!My ^bwound is desperately sick.But I said, “Truly this is a sickness,And I ^cmust bear it.”20 My ^atent is destroyed,And all my ropes are torn out;My ^bsons have gone from me and are no more.There is ^cno one to stretch out my tent againOr to set up my curtains.21 For the shepherds have become senselessAnd ^ahave not sought Yahweh;Therefore they have not prospered,And ^ball their flock is scattered.22 The sound of a ^areport! Behold, it comes—A great quaking ^bout of the land of the north—To ^cmake the cities of JudahA desolation, a haunt of jackals.

23 I know, O Yahweh, that ^aa man’s way is not in himself,^bNor is it in a man who walks to ¹direct his steps.24 ^aDiscipline me, O Yahweh, but with justice;Not with Your anger, lest You ¹bring me to nothing.25 ^aPour out Your wrath on the nations that ^bdo not know YouAnd on the families that ^cdo not call Your name,For they have devoured Jacob;They have ^ddevoured him and consumed himAnd have made desolate his ¹abode.