1 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.
2 Thus says the Lord :
“Learn not the way of the nations,
nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
because the nations are dismayed at them,
3 fIsa. 44:9 for the customs of the peoples are vanity.1Or vapor, or mist
gIsa. 40:20; 45:20 A tree from the forest is cut down
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
4 hIsa. 40:19 They decorate it with silver and gold;
iIsa. 41:7 they fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
5 Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
andjPs. 115:5; 135:16; Hab. 2:18, 19; 1 Cor. 12:2 they cannot speak;
kPs. 115:7; Isa. 46:7 they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
lIsa. 41:23 for they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good. ”
6 mch. 49:19; Ex. 15:11; Ps. 86:8, 10 There is none like you, O Lord;
you are great, and your name is great in might.
7 nch. 5:22; Rev. 15:4 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For this is your due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you.
8 o[Isa. 41:29; Hab. 2:18; Zech. 10:2] They are bothpver. 21 stupid and foolish;
the instruction of idols is but wood!
9 qIsa. 40:19 Beaten silver is brought fromrGen. 10:4; See 1 Kgs. 10:22 Tarshish,
and gold fromsDan. 10:5 Uphaz.
qIsa. 40:19 They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is violet and purple;
tPs. 115:4 they are all the work of skilled men.
10 uDeut. 32:4; Ps. 31:5 But the Lord is the true God;
vPs. 42:2 he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
11 Thus shall you say to them:w[Ps. 96:5] “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earthxver. 15; Isa. 2:18; Zech. 13:2 shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens. ”
12 yFor ver. 12-16, see ch. 51:15-19 It is he whozGen. 1:1, 6, 9; Ps. 104:5; Prov. 3:19 made the earth by his power,
zGen. 1:1, 6, 9; Ps. 104:5; Prov. 3:19 who established the world by his wisdom,
andaJob 9:8 by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
13 b[Job 38:34; Ps. 104:6, 7] When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
cPs. 135:7 and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
cPs. 135:7 He makes lightningdch. 14:22; Job 5:10 for the rain,
cPs. 135:7 and he brings forth the windeJob 38:22 from his storehouses.
14 fver. 8; Prov. 30:2; [Rom. 1:22] Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
gSee Isa. 42:17 every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
hPs. 135:17; Hab. 2:19 and there is no breath in them.
15 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16 Not like these is he who isiPs. 16:5 the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
jDeut. 32:9 and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
kch. 31:35; 32:18; 50:34 the Lord of hosts is his name.
17 l[ch. 6:1; Ezek. 12:3] Gather up your bundle from the ground,
O you who dwell under siege!
18 For thus says the Lord :
m1 Sam. 25:29 “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
nDeut. 28:20 and I will bring distress on them,
that they may feel it. ”
19 Woe is me because of my hurt!
och. 14:17; 30:12 My wound is grievous.
But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,
and I must bear it. ”
20 pch. 4:20; [Isa. 54:2] My tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
qch. 31:15 and they are not;
there is no one to spread my tent again
andpch. 4:20; [Isa. 54:2] to set up my curtains.
21 rch. 23:1; Ezek. 34:2 For the shepherdssver. 8 are stupid
and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
tEzek. 34:5, 6 and all their flock is scattered.
22 A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—
uSee ch. 1:13 a great commotion out of the north country
to makevSee ch. 9:11 the cities of Judah a desolation,
vSee ch. 9:11 a lair of jackals.
23 wProv. 16:1; 20:24; Dan. 5:23 I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,
that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
24 xch. 30:11; 46:28; Ps. 6:1; 38:1 Correct me, O Lord, but in justice;
not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
25 yPs. 79:6, 7 Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,
and on the peoples that call not on your name,
zch. 8:16; 30:16; Ps. 14:4 for they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.