1Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, house of Israel.
2This is what the LORD says: "Do not learn the way of the nations. Do not be frightened by the signs in the sky, though the nations are frightened by them."
3"For the customs of the peoples are empty. Someone cuts a tree out of the forest, and a workman shapes it with his axe."
4They cover it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and hammers, so that it will not fall over.
5They stand straight like a palm tree, but they cannot speak. They have to be carried, because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do harm, and they have no power to do good either.
6There is no one like you, LORD. You are great, and your name is great in power.
7Who would not fear you, King of the nations? It is right that you should be feared. Among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.
8But they are all stupid and foolish. Their teaching is only a wooden log.
9Silver beaten into sheets is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. It is the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the metalworker. Their clothing is blue and purple. They are all the work of skilled men.
10But the LORD is the true God. He is the living God, and an everlasting king. When he is angry, the earth trembles, and the nations cannot stand up to his fury.
11This is what you shall say to them: "The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens."
12He made the earth by his power. He set the world in place by his wisdom, and he stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
13When he speaks aloud, the waters roar in the heavens. He makes the mists rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning with rain, and he brings the wind out of his storehouses.
14Every man is stupid and knows nothing. Every metalworker is put to shame by the image he carves. For the image he casts is a lie, and there is no breath in them.
15They are worthless, a work of mistakes. When the time comes for them to be punished, they will perish.
16The portion of Jacob is not like them, for he is the maker of all things. Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. The LORD of hosts is his name.
17Gather up your goods from the ground, you who live under siege.
18For this is what the LORD says: "Look, I will sling out the people who live in this land, all at once. I will bring trouble on them, so that they will know it."
19How terrible my injury is. My wound is deep. But I said, "Truly this is my pain, and I must bear it."
20My tent is ruined, and all my ropes are broken. My children have gone away from me, and they are no more. There is no one left to put up my tent again, or to hang up my curtains.
21For the shepherds have become stupid, and they have not sought the LORD. So they will not succeed, and all their flocks will be scattered.
22Listen, a rumour is coming, and a great uproar from the land of the north. It will leave the cities of Judah empty, a home for jackals.
23LORD, I know that a man's way is not his own. It is not for a man who walks to guide his own steps.
24Correct me, LORD, but with fair judgement. Do not correct me in your anger, or you will reduce me to nothing.
25Pour out your fury on the nations that do not know you, and on the families that do not call on your name. For they have eaten up Jacob. They have devoured him and finished him off, and they have left his home empty.