Online Bible

A Satire on Idolatry

Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD,“^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 customs of the peoples are ¹^adelusion;Because ^bit is wood cut from the forest,The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.4 “They ^adecorate it with silver and with gold;They ^bfasten 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 ^bcarried,Because they cannot walk!Do not fear them,For they ^ccan do no harm,Nor can they do any good.”

6 ^aThere is none like You, O LORD;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 ^astupid and foolishIn their discipline of ¹delusion—²their idol is wood!9 Beaten ^asilver is brought from ^bTarshish,And ^cgold from Uphaz,The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;Violet and purple are their clothing;They are all the ^dwork of skilled men.10 But the LORD 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 the ²heavens.”

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 utters 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 ^astupid, devoid of knowledge;Every goldsmith is put to shame by his ¹idols;For his molten images are deceitful,And there is no breath in them.15 They are ^aworthless, 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;The ^dLORD of hosts is His name.

17 ^aPick up your bundle from the ground,You who dwell under siege!18 For thus says the LORD,“Behold, I am ^aslinging out the inhabitants of the landAt this time,And will cause them distress,That they may ¹be found.”

19 ^aWoe is me, because of my ¹injury!My ^bwound is incurable.But I said, “Truly this is a sickness,And I ^cmust bear it.”20 My ^atent is destroyed,And all my ropes are broken;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 stupidAnd ^ahave not sought the LORD;Therefore they have not prospered,And ^ball their flock is scattered.22 The sound of a ^areport! Behold, it comes—A great commotion ^bout of the land of the north—To ^cmake the cities of JudahA desolation, a haunt of jackals.

23 I know, O LORD, that ^aa man’s way is not in himself,^bNor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.24 ^aCorrect me, O LORD, but with justice;Not with Your anger, or You will 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 laid waste his ¹habitation.