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Jeremiah 10:3
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 10:3
New Living Translation
3 Their ways are futile and foolish.
They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
Jeremiah 10:3
New International Version
Jeremiah 10:3
New International Version
1 Peter 1:18
New Living Translation
1 Peter 1:18
New Living Translation
18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.
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1 Peter 1:18
New International Version
1 Peter 1:18
New International Version
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed(A) from the empty way of life(B) handed down to you from your ancestors,
Jeremiah 10:8
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 10:8
New Living Translation
8 People who worship idols are stupid and foolish.
The things they worship are made of wood!
Jeremiah 10:8
New International Version
Jeremiah 10:8
New International Version
Leviticus 18:30
New Living Translation
Leviticus 18:30
New Living Translation
30 So obey my instructions, and do not defile yourselves by committing any of these detestable practices that were committed by the people who lived in the land before you. I am the Lord your God.”
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Leviticus 18:30
New International Version
Leviticus 18:30
New International Version
30 Keep my requirements(A) and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.(B)’”
Romans 1:21
New Living Translation
Romans 1:21
New Living Translation
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
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Romans 1:21
New International Version
Romans 1:21
New International Version
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.(A)
Isaiah 45:20
New Living Translation
Isaiah 45:20
New Living Translation
20 “Gather together and come,
you fugitives from surrounding nations.
What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save!
Isaiah 45:20
New International Version
Isaiah 45:20
New International Version
Isaiah 44:9-20
New Living Translation
Isaiah 44:9-20
New Living Translation
9 How foolish are those who manufacture idols.
These prized objects are really worthless.
The people who worship idols don’t know this,
so they are all put to shame.
10 Who but a fool would make his own god—
an idol that cannot help him one bit?
11 All who worship idols will be disgraced
along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—
who claim they can make a god.
They may all stand together,
but they will stand in terror and shame.
12 The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool,
pounding and shaping it with all his might.
His work makes him hungry and weak.
It makes him thirsty and faint.
13 Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood
and draws a pattern on it.
He works with chisel and plane
and carves it into a human figure.
He gives it human beauty
and puts it in a little shrine.
14 He cuts down cedars;
he selects the cypress and the oak;
he plants the pine in the forest
to be nourished by the rain.
15 Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire.
With it he warms himself and bakes his bread.
Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it
and makes himself a god to worship!
He makes an idol
and bows down in front of it!
16 He burns part of the tree to roast his meat
and to keep himself warm.
He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”
17 Then he takes what’s left
and makes his god: a carved idol!
He falls down in front of it,
worshiping and praying to it.
“Rescue me!” he says.
“You are my god!”
18 Such stupidity and ignorance!
Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see.
Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect,
“Why, it’s just a block of wood!
I burned half of it for heat
and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat.
How can the rest of it be a god?
Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”
20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes.
He trusts something that can’t help him at all.
Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,
“Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”
Isaiah 44:9-20
New International Version
Isaiah 44:9-20
New International Version
9 All who make idols(A) are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.(B)
Those who would speak up for them are blind;(C)
they are ignorant, to their own shame.(D)
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,(E)
which can profit nothing?(F)
11 People who do that will be put to shame;(G)
such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
they will be brought down to terror and shame.(H)
12 The blacksmith(I) takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.(J)
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.(K)
13 The carpenter(L) measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in human form,(M)
human form in all its glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.(N)
14 He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine,(O) and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel(P) for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships(Q) it;
he makes an idol and bows(R) down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.(S)”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.(T)
He prays(U) to it and says,
“Save(V) me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand(W) nothing;
their eyes(X) 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(Y) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;(Z)
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable(AA) thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”(AB)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;(AC) a deluded(AD) heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?(AE)”
1 Kings 18:26-28
New Living Translation
1 Kings 18:26-28
New Living Translation
26 So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.
27 About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself.[a] Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”
28 So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out.
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- 18:27 Or is busy somewhere else, or is engaged in business.
1 Kings 18:26-28
New International Version
1 Kings 18:26-28
New International Version
26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called(A) on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response;(B) no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”(C) 28 So they shouted louder and slashed(D) themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.
Matthew 6:7
New Living Translation
Matthew 6:7
New Living Translation
7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.
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Matthew 6:7
New International Version
Matthew 6:7
New International Version
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling(A) like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.(B)
Habakkuk 2:18-19
New Living Translation
Habakkuk 2:18-19
New Living Translation
18 “What good is an idol carved by man,
or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation—
a god that can’t even talk!
19 What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,
‘Wake up and save us!’
To speechless stone images you say,
‘Rise up and teach us!’
Can an idol tell you what to do?
They may be overlaid with gold and silver,
but they are lifeless inside.
Habakkuk 2:18-19
New International Version
Habakkuk 2:18-19
New International Version
18 “Of what value(A) is an idol(B) carved by a craftsman?
Or an image(C) that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak.(D)
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’
Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’(E)
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver;(F)
there is no breath in it.”(G)
Hosea 8:4-6
New Living Translation
Hosea 8:4-6
New Living Translation
4 The people have appointed kings without my consent,
and princes without my approval.
By making idols for themselves from their silver and gold,
they have brought about their own destruction.
5 “O Samaria, I reject this calf—
this idol you have made.
My fury burns against you.
How long will you be incapable of innocence?
6 This calf you worship, O Israel,
was crafted by your own hands!
It is not God!
Therefore, it must be smashed to bits.
Hosea 8:4-6
New International Version
Hosea 8:4-6
New International Version
4 They set up kings without my consent;
they choose princes without my approval.(A)
With their silver and gold
they make idols(B) for themselves
to their own destruction.
5 Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!(C)
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?(D)
6 They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
it is not God.(E)
It will be broken in pieces,
that calf(F) of Samaria.(G)
Jeremiah 2:5
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 2:5
New Living Translation
5 This is what the Lord says:
“What did your ancestors find wrong with me
that led them to stray so far from me?
They worshiped worthless idols,
only to become worthless themselves.
Jeremiah 2:5
New International Version
Jeremiah 2:5
New International Version
5 This is what the Lord says:
Isaiah 40:19-31
New Living Translation
Isaiah 40:19-31
New Living Translation
19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,
overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
20 Or if people are too poor for that,
they might at least choose wood that won’t decay
and a skilled craftsman
to carve an image that won’t fall down!
21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand?
Are you deaf to the words of God—
the words he gave before the world began?
Are you so ignorant?
22 God sits above the circle of the earth.
The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
and makes his tent from them.
23 He judges the great people of the world
and brings them all to nothing.
24 They hardly get started, barely taking root,
when he blows on them and they wither.
The wind carries them off like chaff.
25 “To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:19-31
New International Version
Isaiah 40:19-31
New International Version
19 As for an idol,(A) a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith(B) overlays it with gold(C)
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood(D) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol(E) that will not topple.(F)
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(G)
Has it not been told(H) you from the beginning?(I)
Have you not understood(J) since the earth was founded?(K)
22 He sits enthroned(L) above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.(M)
He stretches out the heavens(N) like a canopy,(O)
and spreads them out like a tent(P) to live in.(Q)
23 He brings princes(R) to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(S)
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root(T) in the ground,
than he blows(U) on them and they wither,(V)
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(W)
25 “To whom will you compare me?(X)
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(Y)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(Z)
Who created(AA) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(AB) one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(AC)
not one of them is missing.(AD)
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?(AE)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(AF)
The Lord is the everlasting(AG) God,
the Creator(AH) of the ends of the earth.(AI)
He will not grow tired or weary,(AJ)
and his understanding no one can fathom.(AK)
29 He gives strength(AL) to the weary(AM)
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men(AN) stumble and fall;(AO)
31 but those who hope(AP) in the Lord
will renew their strength.(AQ)
They will soar on wings like eagles;(AR)
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.(AS)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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