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the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.
2 This is what the Lord says:
“Do not learn the way of the nations;
or be terrified at the signs in the heavens,
though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree from the forest,
a craftsman uses a chisel to shape it with his hands.
4 He decorates it with silver and gold;
it is fastened with hammer and nails
so it will not topple.
5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them;
for they can do no harm,
nor can they do any good.”
6 O Lord, there is no one like You.
You are great,
and Your name is mighty in power.
7 Who would not fear You,
O King of the nations?
This is your rightful due.
Among all the wise men of the nations,
and in all of their kingdoms,
there is no one like You.
8 But they are all senseless and foolish;
a wooden idol gives worthless instruction.
9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz.
The work is made by the craftsman,
and by the hands of the metalsmith.
Their handiwork is clothed in blue and purple—
all the work of skilled artisans.
10 But the Lord is the true God;
He is the living God and the eternal King.
The earth trembles at His wrath,
and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
11 “You must say this to them: ‘The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth, and from under the heavens’.”
12 But God made the earth by His power,
He established the world by His wisdom,
and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
13 When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar,
and He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and He brings out the wind from His storehouses.
14 Everyone is senseless and lacking knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his moulded images are a fraud;
there is no breath in them.
15 They are worthless, objects to be mocked;
at the hour of judgment, they shall perish.
16 God, who is the Portion of Jacob, is not like these.
He is the Maker who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—
the Lord of Hosts is His name.
17 Gather your possessions from the land,
you who live under siege.
18 For this is what the Lord declares:
“Behold, at this time I am flinging out
the inhabitants of the land;
I will bring such distress on them,
that they will feel it.”
19 Woe to me for my injury,
for my wound is severe!
I exclaimed, “Truly my suffering is intense,
but I must bear it.”
20 My tent is destroyed,
all the cords are snapped.
My sons have gone from me,
and they are no more;
there is no one to pitch my tent again,
or set up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds are senseless;
they do not seek after the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flocks are scattered.
22 Listen! The noise of the report comes,
a great commotion from the land of the north!
It will make the cities of Judah desolate,
a habitation of serpents.
23 “I know, O Lord, a man's path through life
is not his own to choose,
for man, who walks,
cannot even determine his own steps.
24 O Lord, correct me—
but only with justice;
not in Your anger,
lest You reduce me to naught.
25 “Pour out Your wrath on the nations,
for they do not recognize You,
and on the clans that do not call on Your name.
For they have eaten up Jacob;
they have devoured him completely,
and made his homeland desolate.”