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18 They do not know, do not understand;
    their eyes are too clouded to see,
    their minds, to perceive.
19 He does not think clearly;
    he lacks the wit and knowledge to say,
“Half the wood I burned in the fire,
    on its embers I baked bread,
    I roasted meat and ate.
Shall I turn the rest into an abomination?
    Shall I worship a block of wood?”
20 He is chasing ashes![a]
A deluded mind has led him astray;
    He cannot save himself,
    does not say, “This thing in my right hand—is it not a fraud?”

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Footnotes

  1. 44:20 Chasing ashes: an exercise in futility.

18 They know nothing, they understand(A) nothing;
    their eyes(B) are plastered over so they cannot see,
    and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
    no one has the knowledge or understanding(C) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;(D)
    I even baked bread over its coals,
    I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable(E) thing from what is left?
    Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”(F)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;(G) a deluded(H) heart misleads him;
    he cannot save himself, or say,
    “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?(I)

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