^17 (A)Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge;
Every metalsmith is put to shame by the carved image;
^(B)For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.

¹⁸ “What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it,
The molded image, a teacher of lies,
That the maker of its mold should trust in it,
To make mute idols?
¹⁹ Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’
To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
Yet in it there is no breath at all.

^14 (A)Everyone is ^(B)dull-hearted, without knowledge;
^(C)Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;
^(D)For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.

^18 (A)They do not know nor understand;
For ^(B)He has ^[a]shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot ^(C)understand.
¹⁹ And no one ^(D)considers in his heart,
Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned half of it in the fire,
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
I have roasted meat and eaten it;
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
²⁰ He feeds on ashes;
^(E)A deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, “Is there not a ^(F)lie in my right hand?”

^2 (A)The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

^(A)“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

² “Declare among the nations,
Proclaim, and ^[a]set up a standard;
Proclaim—do not conceal it—
Say, ‘Babylon is ^(A)taken, ^(B)Bel is shamed.
^[b]Merodach is broken in pieces;
^(C)Her idols are humiliated,
Her images are broken in pieces.’