⁴ Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.^(A)

³ For the customs of the peoples are false:
a tree from the forest is cut down
    and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan;^(A)
4 they deck it with silver and gold;
    they fasten it with hammers and nails
    so that it cannot move.^(B)
5 Their idols^[a] are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
    and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
    for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
    for they cannot do evil,
    nor is it in them to do good.^(C)

⁶ Those who lavish gold from the purse
    and weigh out silver in the scales—
they hire a goldsmith, who makes it into a god;
    then they fall down and worship!^(A)
7 They lift it to their shoulders; they carry it;
    they set it in its place, and it stands there;
    it cannot move from its place.
If one cries out to it, it does not answer
    or save anyone from trouble.^(B)

¹⁹ An idol? A workman casts it,
    and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
    and casts for it silver chains.^(A)
20 As a gift one chooses mulberry wood^[a]
    —wood that will not rot—
then seeks out a skilled artisan
    to set up an image that will not topple.^(B)