The Blessings of Israel

⁶ “This is what the Lord says, He who is the ^(K)King of Israel and his ^(L)Redeemer, the Lord of armies:

The Foolishness of Idolatry

⁹ Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be ^(T)put to shame. ¹⁰ Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to ^(U)no benefit? ¹¹ Behold, all his companions will be ^(V)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.

¹² The ^(W)craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, ^[h]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and ^[i]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. ^13 (X)The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ^(Y)mankind, so that it may sit in a ^(Z)house. ¹⁴ He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. ¹⁵ Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also ^(AA)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and ^(AB)bows down before it. ¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” ¹⁷ Yet the rest of it he ^(AC)makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also ^(AD)prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

¹⁸ They do not ^(AE)know, nor do they understand, for He has ^(AF)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. ¹⁹ No one ^[j]remembers, nor is there ^(AG)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then ^[k]I make the rest of it into an ^(AH)abomination, ^[l]I bow down before a block of wood!” ²⁰ He ^[m](AI)feeds on ashes; a ^(AJ)deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save ^[n]himself, nor say, “^(AK)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

²⁴ This is what the Lord says, He who is your ^(AV)Redeemer, and the One who ^(AW)formed you from the womb: