Add parallel Print Page Options

10 Hear the word which Yahweh speaks to you, house of Israel! Yahweh says,

“Don’t learn the way of the nations,
    and don’t be dismayed at the signs of the sky;
    for the nations are dismayed at them.
For the customs of the peoples are vanity;
    for one cuts a tree out of the forest,
    the work of the hands of the workman with the ax.
They deck it with silver and with gold.
    They fasten it with nails and with hammers,
    so that it can’t move.
They are like a palm tree, of turned work,
    and don’t speak.
They must be carried,
    because they can’t move.
Don’t be afraid of them;
    for they can’t do evil,
    neither is it in them to do good.”

Read full chapter

False Gods Contrasted with the Creator

10 Hear the word that the Lord has spoken to[a] you, house of Israel. This is what the Lord says:

Do not learn the way of the nations(A)
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are terrified by them,
for the customs of the peoples are worthless.
Someone cuts down a tree from the forest;
it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
He decorates it with silver and gold.(B)
It is fastened with hammer and nails,(C)
so it won’t totter.
Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.(D)
They must be carried(E) because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them for they can do no harm(F)
and they cannot do any good.(G)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 10:1 Or against