^6 (A)Everyone helped his neighbor,
And said to his brother,
^[a]“Be of good courage!”
^7 (B)So the craftsman encouraged the ^(C)goldsmith;^[b]
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, ^[c]“It is ready for the soldering”;
Then he fastened it with pegs,
^(D)That it might not totter.

^19 (A)The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.

^6 (A)They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a ^(B)goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
^7 (C)They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though ^(D)one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.

¹³ Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts
That the peoples labor ^[a]to feed the fire,
And nations weary themselves in vain?

³ For the customs of the peoples are ^[a]futile;
For ^(A)one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
⁴ They decorate it with silver and gold;
They ^(B)fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
⁵ They are upright, like a palm tree,
And ^(C)they cannot speak;
They must be ^(D)carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For ^(E)they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”