Online Bible

A Satire on Idolatry

Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, house of Israel. 2 This is what the LORD says:“^aDo not learn the way of the nations,And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens,Although the nations are terrified by them;

3 For the customs of the peoples are ^afutile;For ^bit is wood cut from the forest,The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.4 “They ^adecorate the idol with silver and gold;They ^bfasten it with nails and hammersSo that it will not totter.5 “They are like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,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, LORD;You are ^bgreat, and Your name is great in might.7 ^aWho would not fear You, O ^bKing of the nations?For 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 foolish;The instruction from idols is nothing but wood!9 Beaten ^asilver is brought from ^bTarshish,And ^cgold from Uphaz,The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;Their clothing is of violet and purple;They are all the ^dwork of skilled people.10 But the LORD is the ^atrue God;He is the ^bliving God and the ^ceverlasting King.The ^dearth quakes at His wrath,And the nations cannot ^eendure His indignation.

11 ¹This is what you shall say to them: “The ^agods that did not make the heavens and the earth will ^bperish from the earth and from under these 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 utters His ^avoice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens,And He makes the ^bclouds ascend from the end of the earth;He makes lightning for the rain,And brings out the ^cwind from His storehouses.14 Every person is ^astupid, devoid of knowledge;Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,For his cast metal images are deceitful,And there is no breath in them.15 They are ^aworthless, a work of mockery;At the ^btime of their punishment they will perish.16 The ^aPortion of Jacob is not like these;For He is the ¹^bMaker of everything,And ^cIsrael is the tribe of His inheritance;The ^dLORD of armies is His name.

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

19 ^aWoe to me, because of my ¹injury!My ^bwound is incurable.But I said, “This certainly is a sickness,And I ^cmust endure 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 is coming—A great roar ^bfrom the land of the north—To ^cmake the cities of JudahA desolation, a haunt of jackals.

23 I know, LORD, that ^aa person’s way is not in himself,^bNor is it in a person who walks to direct his steps.24 ^aCorrect me, 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 You,And on the families who ^cdo not call upon Your name;For they have devoured Jacob;They have ^ddevoured him and consumed him,And have laid waste his ¹settlement.